PUNE, India, CMC – Deandra Dottin’s cameo with the bat outshone West Indies teammate Hayley Matthews’ with the ball as Supernovas trounced Trailblazers by 49 runs in the opening fixture of the Women’s T20 Challenge here yesterday.
Choosing to bat first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Supernovas tallied 163 all out off their 20 overs with captain Harmanpreet Kaur top scoring with 37, Harleen Deol getting 35, and Dottin hitting a 17-ball 32 at the top of the order.
Matthews was outstanding, snatching three for 29 from four overs of off-spin while Salma Khatun supported with two for 30 with her off-breaks.
In reply, Trailblazers were held to 114 for nine off their 20 overs with captain Smriti Mandhana leading her side with 34 and fellow Indian star Jemimah Rodrigues chipping in with 24.
Matthews got a start with 18 but failed to carry on as Trailblazers fell away after a decent start.
Dottin sent down two overs of medium pace which cost only seven runs, further helping to starve Trailblazers’ batters.
She had earlier given Supernovas a strong start, lashing five fours and a six in a 50-run opening stand with Priya Punia (22).
The West Indies superstar perished in the fifth over via the run out route after being sent back by Punia in search of a quick single, and Kaur and Deol put on 37 for the third wicket to revive the innings.
Matthews, who had earlier accounted for Punia, then struck twice at the back end as the last five wickets went down for eight runs off the last nine deliveries.
The run chase received a healthy start when left-hander Mandhana punched four fours off 23 balls in a 39-run opening stand with Matthews who counted two fours and a six in a 14-ball knock.
When Matthews nicked a big drive at fast bowler Pooja Vastrakar (4-12) behind, Mandhana put on a further 24 for the second wicket with Rodrigues before things fell apart. The next eight wickets fell for just 31 runs.
