While everyone is eagerly waiting for the results of the men’s Indian Premier League 2020, the Women’s T20 Challenge just ended with the Trailblazers lifting the winner’s trophy. Lead by skipper Smriti Mandhana, the team defended a target of 118 against the two-time champions Supernova and won their maiden T20 trophy on Monday, reported The Indian Express.
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“I just told the girls that these are the last 20 overs of the tournament,” Mandhana said after seeing the score on the board. “Because of the Covid situation, we don’t know when we’ll come out next, so we wanted to give it our all. It was a hard wicket to bat on and we had quality spinners. 135 would have been ideal but nevertheless, 118 was good on this wicket.”
“This experience was amazing to go out in the nets with the overseas players and our youngsters, it was nice to exchange knowledge and cultures to see how cricket is played in their countries. It was nice for the youngsters to be able to bowl to players like Dottin before being selected into the national side.”
Say cheeeseeee, skipper! 😃 #WomensT20Challenge #Trailblazers #SmritiMandhana #Smriti pic.twitter.com/XjP5dXg23F
— Women's CricZone (@WomensCricZone) November 10, 2020
The players returned to the ground after a brief hiatus due to coronavirus lockdown. Talking about it she said:
“The first one-two months of the lockdown was good to spend time with the family. But I think in the last three-four months we got time to go out and start hitting some balls. It was a good time for all of us to go back and work on ourselves which we don’t get usually.”
“My wicket was crucial because this wicket was tough to bat on. The set batsman needed to bat on, 140 was quite achievable and this is what I need to work on in finishing innings,” added Mandhana, who was also named the ‘Player of the Match’.
The defending Supernova skipper Harmanpreet said that even though they didn’t win this time, she is glad that women’s cricket is back. “We couldn’t do it this time but it is part of the game and we’ll take it as a learning. It wasn’t that tough a total to chase but we just didn’t get partnerships. We needed two good partnerships, but we didn’t. It was really tough for me; while fielding only I got hurt but you have got to be there for the team.”
“I tried my best but couldn’t win it for the team. Sitting at home was really difficult, but we have to respect the things that are going on and be safe. Yes definitely, women’s cricket is back.”
Yes, even we are glad that the world is finally getting back on track. Congratulations, Trailblazers for a well-deserved victory.