Supernovas loses its way after a bright start

There has been a lot of speculation of late about the Women’s T20 Challenge. The question is if the fourth edition, which opened on a windy Monday night at the MCA Stadium here, would actually be the last, making way for the long-awaited Women’s IPL.

It may be a while before we know it for sure. What we know is that the tournament has been a quality event; it wasn’t held last year, though.

The Supernovas elected to bat first, its batters wasted no time to remind the fans what they missed. The Trailblazers bowlers, however, came back in the second half of the innings as Supernovas had to be content with 163, a little less than what they would have hoped for after scoring 92 for two in 10 overs.

Openers Deandra Dottin (32, 17b, 5×4, 1×6) and Priya Punia (22, 20b, 2×4, 1×6) looked like two women in a hurry. So much so, 50 was up on the board in the fifth over.

The intent was clear when Priya stepped out and lofted Renuka Singh’s last ball of the first over long-on for a six. The medium-pacer went for more in her second over, with Dottin smashing three boundaries.

The West Indian, in fact, was looking in ominous touch when a direct hit from Sharmin Akhter had her run-out, going for a second run that simply wasn’t there. She was followed in the dug-out a couple of overs later by Priya, who was bowled while trying to pull Hayley Matthews.

Then a third wicket-stand between Harleen Deol (35, 19b, 5×4) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (37, 29b, 4×4) took the score past 100 in the 12th over. But the innings was set back by the dismissal of Harleen, who was trapped lbw by Salma Khatun, despite a review.

There were fine efforts from the Trailblazers spinners, led by Matthews. They were backed well by their fielders.

Today’s match: Supernovas vs Velocity, 3.30 p.m.