Match Preview : IPL Trailblazers vs IPL Supernovas

It’s the best possible time to be a fan of women’s cricket. There may not have been a better time say about a couple of years ago. In an age where TRPs determine sporting destinies and the success of sport’s popularity rests so much on innovation, cricket has delivered excellently on both fronts- propagating the women’s game as well as filling stands by latching on to 20-20 cricket.



Following the successful campaign of arguably the most watched and thrilling edition of the World Cup in 2017, a spate of developments pushed the envelope of the women’s game. There was a spurt of bi-lateral series and a triangular series, India being at the heart of both, and now the Launchpad for promoting the women’s game further sees India being at the forefront of escalating T20s in Asia.



Fans of the IPL, who’d hitherto been thrilled by the enticing prospect of seeing a Virat, De Villiers, Dhoni and Gayle devouring bowlers now have to their delight an ensemble of the best names in the women’s sport. Amid the time where the men’s IPL draws to a close, there may not have been a better spike in adrenaline as also in fortunes with BCCI’s sudden decision, albeit one that was being debated in murmurs.



So what if one’s yet to receive an official word on the inaugural season of the women’s IPL? Having an IPL-styled contest spun around the playoffs stage has got everyone excited. We are hours away from the start of a one of a kind women’s exclusive IPL contest that may just define the way the show-stopping T20 league grows in India.



Did we see this coming, say a quarter of a year ago? Who would’ve thought that there would be a day where decorated names of the class and repute of a Mandhana and Raj, close-knit compatriots would be squaring off against one another? Who would’ve predicted that a Harmanpreet Kaur and Ellyse Perry would share the dressing room together?



In bringing two, feisty, powerful IPL sides- Supernovas and Trailblazers- what might simply be a one-off exhibition T20 game may go a long way in defining rise of T20 leagues in the heart of the sub-continent.



The same way one possibly cannot imagine a KXIP, RCB, CSK and MI sans KL Rahul, Kohli and De Villiers, Dhoni and Bravo, Rohit respectively, you cannot imagine the Trailblazers without Mandhana, Healy, Bates and the Supernovas without Harmanpreet, Wyatt, Mithali and Lanning respectively.



So what can be expected from the first of its kind IPL contest, that may just be a curtain raiser to the Women’s IPL?



The two, seemingly even and balanced sides may look to the batswomen to call the opening shots. If you consider the line-up that the Trailblazers are playing with, it seems that the top-heavy side may be overly reliant on the blades of an in-form Smriti Mandhana and Alyssa Healy to fire the opening salvo.



There’s plenty of bowling resources that Mandhana would want to introduce at peculiar intervals in the game in the form of Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey- the two pace spearheads- who’d love to attack in tandem with spinners- Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, famous for cleverly taking the pace off the bowl. Familiar followers of quintessentially slow but batting-friendly IPL wickets would know the impact spinners can have.



On the other hand, Harmanpreet-led Supernovas will feel they possess a tad bit deeper depth in batting. No bowling attack, even if it comprises a legend like Goswami and rising forces like Lea Tahuhu and Shikha Pandey can breathe easy seeing an attack featuring Danni Wyatt, Mithali Raj, Ellyse Perry and none other than Meg Lanning herself.



What we may expect could be a plundering of runs in this mega one-off contest and should that happen- it will only go a long way to give fans what they crave for- unbridled excitement and edge of the seat thrillers. But before that, the task for both teams would be cut out. How can the boisterous ball-smashers be kept silent- if at all- and whether there’s something in it for the spinners?



Expect avid youngsters, no stranger to upping the scoring rate in both sides- Jemimah from the Trailblazers’ stable and Taniya Bhatia from the Supernovas' camp to make it count.



An interesting contest, however, would be to see how the likes of Perry and Schutt approach to keep the soaring names like Mooney and Bates quiet in a contest that’s so skewed toward batters.