Women's T20 Challenger: Smriti leads Trailblazers to 118-8 against Supernovas

Smriti's wicket was huge in terms of strike rate and the number of runs scored. The Supernovas spinners -- Radha, Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav -- did well in applying breaks and the Trailblazers batswomen Richa and Deepti struggled to score runs quickly.

Hyderabad: Riding on captain Smriti Mandhana's blistering (68 off 49) knock along with Deandra Dottin (20 off 32 balls) on Monday, Trailblazers scored 118-8 runs in their first innings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

However, the team lost their way after Smriti's dismissal in the 15th over where she was stumped by Taniya Bhatia off Siriwardene. And after Smriti's innings, Radha stole the show and took five wickets at the end of the innings, especially in the last over where she came with the wickets of Goswami, Harleen Deol and Ecclestone.

At one time Trailblazers seemed like scoring 140 runs but were halted at 118, thanks to Supernovas bowlers who choked their batting line-up in the last five overs where they scored just 17 runs.

Smriti's wicket was huge in terms of strike rate and the number of runs scored. The Supernovas spinners -- Radha, Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav -- did well in applying breaks and the Trailblazers batswomen Richa and Deepti struggled to score runs quickly.

Deepti (9 off 10) eventually fell to Radha in the 18th over of the match. In the same over, Richa Ghosh tried to push the accelerator and went for a big strike over long-off but could not generate enough power and was caught by Athapaththu.

Earlier, Mandhana and Dottin provided a brilliant platform for the rest of the line-up and the team looked well on its way to score a big total.

While Mandhana assumed the role of an aggressor with boundaries all around the ground, Dottin rotated the strike and clinched a crucial opening stand with her.

The batters had no hesitation in taking on the likes of Ayabonga Khaka, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav.

At the end of 10 overs, Trailblazer were 66-0, thanks to the opening stand between the two. By then, Dottin was on 18 and Mandhana had scored 45(33).

Although, Dottin lost her wicket in the next over after going for a slog sweep. She was struggling to score quickly and seemed desperate for a boundary. She was caught by Radha Yadav.

The score is not a challenging one and the Trailblazers will have to bowl well if they are looking to win the match.