Preview: Match 2 – Trailblazers vs Velocity

After a breathtaking finale to the first match of the Women's T20 Challenge in Jaipur, all eyes will be eagerly watching the second match today afternoon.



In the first match played on 6th May, last year's champions Supernovas fell short of the target set by Trailblazers by just 2 runs.



On the slow pitch the batters struggled against the spinners but found relatively easy against the medium pacers. Though Smriti Mandhana scored 90 in 67 deliveries, she too struggled initially against the spinners deployed by the Supernovas.



Because of a patient partnership of 119 runs between Mandhana and Deol, the Trailblazers posted a competitive score of 140 runs. Supernovas struggled in the middle overs and lost quick wickets on the slow track and ultimately lost the contest by 2 runs.



Today Mandhana's Trailblazers will aim to win the match and cement their place in the finals. Standing in their way will be the new team in the tournament, Velocity led by Mithali Raj.



Velocity will rely on the wealth of experience not only from Raj, but she will also be supported by Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Danielle Wyatt of England and young allrounder Amelia Kerr from New Zealand. They also have Windies star Hayley Matthews and Jahanara Alam from Bangladesh to call upon.



Trailblazers have incredible talent at their disposal in Suzie Bates of New Zealand, Stafanie Taylor and Shakera Selman form Windies and Sophie Ecclestone of England, who bowled match changing penultimate over.



Trailblazers will have to address their fielding which saw many catches being dropped in the first match which could've easily cost them the match.



The match will start at 3.30 pm which will make teams carefully plot their strategies and execute it to perfection.



What to expect: If the first match can be considered as a benchmark, then we can expect the pitch to be slow. Spinners will play a crucial role in containing the big hitters. If the team batting first can score between 140-160 then it will be easier to defend it.



Teams:



Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (c), Bharti Fulmali, DayalanHemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Jasia Akhtar, Jhulan Goswami, R Kalpana (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad



Overseas Players: Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Shakera Selman (West Indies)



Coach: Biju George



Velocity: Mithali Raj (c), Devika Vaidya, Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma (wk), SushreeDibyadarshini, Veda Krishnamurthy.



Overseas Players: Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Danielle Wyatt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), JahanaraAlam (Bangladesh)



Coach: Mamata Maben



The match will start at 3.30 pm. (IST)