Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur--two of India's biggest stars in women's cricket clashed and it is the latter, who emerged victorious in the first game of the Women's T20 Challenge opener on Monday, May 23. Kaur's Supernovas were absolutely clinical as they outclassed Trailblazers by 49 runs to begin their Women's T20 Challenge campaign on a high. Batting first, they not only registered the highest powerplay score but also the total as they ended up with 163 runs on the board. With the ball and on the field, they were superb and like livewires on the field, as they secured a 49-run win at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium.  Supernovas Register Massive 49-Run Win Over Trailblazers To Kickstart Women’s T20 Challenge 2022

Chasing 164 to win, Trailblazers' innings were plagued with continuous loss of wickets as their chase never got going. From 63/1, they were reduced to 94/9 in no time. Pooja Vastrakar was the star of the night for Supernovas, as he snared four wickets for just 12 runs in her four overs. Leg-spinner Alana King did well too. Playing her first game in India, she took two wickets for 30 runs. Meghna Singh and Sophie Ecclestone ended with one apiece. Trailblazers skipper Mandhana top-scored for her side with 34 runs, Hayley Matthews added 18 and Jemimah Rodrigues contributed 24. Apart from these three, there was no real contribution from the others.

Earlier, Supernovas won the toss and chose to bat first. The decision proved to be right as they scored the highest runs in the powerplay of the competition, ending with 58/1. Trailblazers spinners, led by Hayley Matthews (3/29), Salma Khatun (2/30) were at the top of their game as they restricted Supernovas to 163. Skipper Kaur was Supernovas' best batter, scoring 37 runs, while Harleen Deol and Deadra Dottin contributed (35) and 32 respectively. Besides her efforts with the bat, Deol was electric on the field as well, taking some good catches.

Here are some stat highlights of the match:

#Supernovas registered the highest powerplay score in Women's T20 Challenge history.

#They also scored the highest total in the history of the competition.

Supernovas will aim to continue their winning momentum when they take on Velocity in their second game on Wednesday. Trailblazers on the other hand, would eye a comeback after a defeat as heavy as this.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2022 12:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).