Returning after a one year gap, the Women’s T20 Challenge needed a grand opening and Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas exceeded all expectations in the 2022 edition opener.
It was the Supernovas who won the toss and Harmanpreet opted to bat, saying: “First game, so we want to play freely.”
That freedom in approach was quite visible from the word go as West Indies’ destructive opener Deandra Dottin and India’s Priya Punia got them off to a flier at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Dottin relied on her brute strength to muscle her shots to the fences, while Punia was more about crunchy drives and deft touches. The duo put together an opening partnership of 50 runs in five overs before a direct hit from Bangladesh’s Sharmin Akhter sent Dottin packing.
Nevertheless, Supernovas scored 58 in the powerplay which is a record for the Women’s T20 Challenge. The previous best powerplay score was 51, made by Supernovas against the same opposition in 2018. This was followed by solid middle-order batting.
After Punia’s departure, Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet took on the mantle. Harleen has been in some good form recently. She belted 235 runs in seven matches of the recently-concluded Senior Women’s T20 Trophy as Himachal Pradesh made it to the quarterfinals.
In Pune, Harleen displayed some exquisite footwork with her cut and pull shots as she made a quick-fire 35 off 19. Most of Harleen’s international cricket exposure has been in T20Is, but there have been question marks over her capability to score runs quickly. On Monday, she showed she has made strong progress on that front.
Harmanpreet added another 37 runs off 29 balls and kept the scoring rate going even after the dismissal of Harleen. There were small contributions from Sune Luus (10) and Pooja Vastrakar (14), but it was the top-order runs that helped Supernovas post 163 in 20 overs — the highest total in Women’s T20 Challenge history. It could have been a lot more if Supernovas had not lost five wickets in the last two overs including a disappointing runout of Harmanpreet.
Trailblazers, in reply, got off to a cracking start with captain Mandhana leading the charge. They had 63 on the board by 7.1 overs with Mandhana making 34 off 22, but what followed was a heartbreaker. Six wickets fell in the next five overs and Trailblazers were reduced to 73/7 by the 12th over.
The wrecker-in-chief was pacer Vastrakar whose stocks have risen sharply since the terrific ODI World Cup she had in New Zealand earlier this year. The 22-year-old dismissed both the openers — Hayley Matthews and Mandhana — before also removing World Cup finalist Sophia Dunkley and Salma Khatun. Vastrakar’s excellent returns of 4/12 in four overs had Trailblazers succumb to a heavy 49-run defeat in the tournament opener. With Jhulan Goswami in the twilight of her career and senior pacer Shikha Pandey going out of favour, fast-bowling all-rounder Vastrakar’s rise has come at the most opportune time.
Pacer Meghna Singh, who was Goswami’s new-ball partner at the World Cup, also had a decent night for Supernovas returning with figures of 1/16 from three overs.
Another aspect of the game that left an impression was the ground fielding, especially from Supernovas and the Indian contingent. Punia had a big role to play in Mandhana and Dunkley’s dismissal as she showed some great agility inside the circle to take two excellent catches. Harleen took two brilliant catches in the deep with the forward-diving one to dismiss Jemimah Rodrigues at deep extra-cover taking the cake.
Sophie Ecclestone, the No 1 bowler in women’s cricket, and World Cup winner Alana King took two wickets each for the Supernovas. Matthews had three wickets for 29 while bowling for Trailblazers.
The global superstars had a decent day, but in a game that included the world No 1 bowler and a world champion, it was the Indians who stole the show as Supernovas crushed Trailblazers in the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 opener.
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