Women's T20 Challenge 2019: Supernovas vs Trailblazers, Match 1 Preview - The "Wonder women" take center stage in Jaipur

After showing a glimpse of how the Women’s T20 Challenge might pan out last year, the BCCI has expanded its boundaries a little more. This time, there will be one other team apart from the Supernovas and the Trailblazers, the Velocity. These three sides will be tussling in a Tri-series which will begin on 6th and finish on 11th May, just a day before the IPL final.

Two of Indian cricket’s biggest names in the current generation, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will be leading the respective lines for Supernovas and the Trailblazers. Under them, they have some very charismatic figures to help the young Indian cricketers, who will have a great time sharing the dressing room with such a diverse team.

On paper, the Trailblazers might look a wee-bit strong with the presence of some stalwarts like Staphanie Taylor, Suzie Bates and Jhulan Goswami, but there’s some young exuberance on the Supernovas side which will make up for a really interesting contest at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Playing Combinations

Supernovas

One of Indian cricket’s greats in the shortest format, the very exuberant Harmanpreet Kaur will be in charge of the Super Novas. Youngster Jemimah Rodrigues will be opening the batting with the Kiwi legend Sophie Devine. Chamari Athapaththu and Natalie Sciver will be holding the middle order alongside skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, giving a great outlook to the batting lineup. Lea Tahuhu and Poonam Yadav will be crucial with the ball, with speedster Mansi Joshi taking the new ball.

Predicted XI

Jemimah Rodrigues, Sophie Devine, Chamari Athapaththu, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Natalie Sciver, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Anuja Patil, Lea Tahuhu, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Mansi Joshi/Arundhati Reddy

Trailblazers

Smriti Mandhana has two interesting opening partners in Dayalan Hemalatha and the evergreen Suzie Bates. The powerful presence of Windies skipper Stafanie Taylor and Deepti Sharma will be crucial in the middle order for the Trailblazers. Jhulan Goswami will take the new ball for the side with Bharati Fulmani, or we might see Mandhana starting with a spinner in Deepti Sharma or Sophie Ecclestone.

Predicted XI

Smriti Mandhana (c), Dayalan Hemalatha, Suzie Bates, Harleen Deol, Stafanie Taylor, Deepti Sharma, Ravi Kalpana (wk), Shakera Selman, Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sophie Ecclestone

Focus will be on

Harmanpreet Kaur (Supernovas)

There clearly is no match to Harmanpreet Kaur when it comes to pulling crowds towards her in Indian cricket. Capable of striking a long distance and also building a knock with patience, she has everything in her arsenal to trouble the bowlers. She shoulders another huge responsibility in building women’s cricket in India and this probably was the chance she had been waiting for a long time.

Stafanie Taylor (Trailblazers)

It really is difficult to pick one among Stafanie Taylor, Smriti Mandhan, Suzie Bates and Jhulan Goswami, but let’s move ahead with the Windies skipper. She led her national side to World T20 triumph in 2016 and continues to be one of the stalwarts of the women’s game. She is the second highest run-scorer in this format (International) and interestingly, the highest run-scorer will be her teammate in this campaign (Suzie Bates).

Stat Attack

7146 – If Smriti Mandhana, Suzie Bates and Stafanie Taylor comprise the top three, they will have an aggregate of 7,146 runs in T20Is, which is the highest aggregate among all teams this season.

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD

Live Streaming – Hotstar

Match Timings – 19:30 IST

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.