Radha Yadav of Supernovas celebrates after takes a wicket. (BCCI/IPL)Radha Yadav bagged a historic five-wicket haul for the Supernovas to restrict Trailblazers to 118/8 in the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge on Monday.
Smriti Mandhana struck an elegant 68 off 49 balls before the 20-yar-old scripted a remarkable comeback.
Yadav, who bowled a match-winning final over against the same opponents on Saturday, ended with figures of five for 16 in four overs. She ran through the opposition batting line-up with three wickets in the 20th over.
Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Sophie Ecclestone, Jhulan Goswami all fell prey to the guile of the crafty left-arm orthodox of Radha.
Mandhana in full flow is always a treat to watch and it was no different in the title clash after opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur put the Trailblazers in to bat.
However, her effort was the only bright spot for the Trailblazers in what turned out to be an ordinary batting effort after they were 71/0 in 11 overs.
Mandhana’s cover drives were as delightful as her three straight sixes and it seemed she was batting on a different surface. Her opening partner Deandra Dottin (20 off 32) got a start but struggled to find the the boundaries.
Mandhana got going by smashing offie Anuja Patil for a couple of fours and a maximum in the second over. The southpaw was happy to bat first and at 56 for no loss in seven overs, the Trailblazers looked like on course for a 150-plus total.
However, runs dried up after the powerplay with the ball getting older. The experienced spin duo of Poonam Yadav and Shashikala Siriwardene cut the flow of runs with their accurate spells, picking up a wicket each in the process.
Mandhana got stumped off Siriwardene in the 15th over and after that, it was all downhill for her team.
Nattakan Chantam flies
Thailand’s Nattakan Chantam produced a moment of brilliance on the field. Watch the moment here-
We can and we will 🏏💪#WomensT20Challenge
Nattakan Chantam🇹🇭 WHAT A SAVE!! pic.twitter.com/UfrIFmE0oY
— City of Stars (@IamFatima5) November 9, 2020
#WomensT20Challenge
CHANTAM from Thailand
Haven’t got opportunities with the bat but look at her fielding 👇 pic.twitter.com/MYreAJSv5S— ɦɛʍǟռȶɦ🎌 (@IHemanth) November 9, 2020
At the end it was Trailblazers who beat Supernovas by 16 runs to win Women’s T20 Challenge title.