IPL Trailblazers are an Indian women's cricket team. They were founded in 2018 to compete in the Women's T20 Challenge, and are captained by Smriti Mandhana. They are the current champions of the T20 Challenge, having beaten Supernovas in the Final of the 2020 Women's T20 Challenge by 16 runs.
History
2018
Trailblazers were formed in 2018 to take part in the inaugural Women's T20 Challenge competition, in which they played a one-off match against Supernovas. The game was viewed as a response to the men's Indian Premier League, and hopes were that the one-off game would lead towards a fully-fledged tournament in the future.[1] Indian batter Smriti Mandhana was named as captain of the side, alongside fellow Indians Deepti Sharma and Jhulan Goswami as well as overseas players Alyssa Healy, Suzie Bates, Beth Mooney, Danielle Hazell and Lea Tahuhu.[2]
In the match, which took place on the 22nd May 2018, the Trailblazers were put into bat and restricted to 129/6, with Suzie Bates top-scoring for 32. The game went to the final over, with Bates needing to defend four runs. Supernovas batter Ellyse Perry hit a single off the final ball to crown her side champions.[3] The Supernovas were therefore crowned the winners of the inaugural Women's T20 Challenge.[4]
2019
2019 saw the expansion of the tournament to three teams, with the addition of Velocity. Each side played each other once in a group stage, with the top two progressing to a final.[5] Trailblazers won their first game of the tournament, a rematch against Supernovas, after captain Mandhana struck 90 off 67 balls, and tight bowling from Sophie Ecclestone and Rajeshwari Gayakwad restricted the Supernovas batters.[6] In their second match, against Velocity, Trailblazers scored 112/6 batting first, which Velocity chased down with two overs to spare. The group ended with all sides on two points, but the Trailblazers had the worst Net Run Rate and were therefore eliminated.[7][8]
2020
The 2020 Women's T20 Challenge was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually getting underway in November.[9] Trailblazers played Velocity in their first game, bowling them out for just 47, with overseas bowler Sophie Ecclestone taking 4 wickets for 9 runs. Trailblazers then chased their target down in 7.5 overs.[10] Their second game was much closer, however, as Supernovas set them 146 to chase. Deepti Sharma scored 43*, but Trailblazers fell two runs short.[11]
Trailblazers still qualified for the final on Net Run Rate, however, and faced Supernovas again. Batting first, Mandhana scored 68 as her side reached 118, and tight bowling from Goswami, Sharma and Salma Khatun in particular meant Supernovas could only score 102, giving the Trailblazers their maiden T20 Challenge title.[12]
Players
Current squad
As per 2020 season.[13]
- No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
- Template:Double-dagger denotes players with international caps.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batter | ||||||
| 18 | Smriti Mandhana Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1996-7-18 (age 30) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | Club captain |
| – | Punam Raut Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1989-10-14 (age 37) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 93 | Natthakan Chantam Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1996-1-1 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 6 | Deepti Sharma Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1997-8-9 (age 29) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 9 | Dayalan Hemalatha Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1994-9-29 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 21 | Harleen Deol Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1998-6-21 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 25 | Jhulan Goswami Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1983-11-25 (age 43) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| 3 | Salma Khatun Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1990-10-1 (age 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Overseas player |
| 5 | Deandra Dottin Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1991-6-21 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm Fast-medium | Overseas player |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 13 | Richa Ghosh Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 2003-11-28 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 7 | Nuzhat Parween Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1996-9-5 (age 30) | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 1 | Rajeshwari Gayakwad Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1991-6-1 (age 35) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 19 | Sophie Ecclestone Template:Double-dagger | Template:Crw | 1999-5-6 (age 27) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Overseas player |
| – | Simran Bahadur | Template:Crw | 1999-12-13 (age 27) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| – | Kashvee Gautam | Template:Crw | 2003-4-18 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Seasons
Women's T20 Challenge
| Season | Final standing | League standings | Notes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | Pos | |||
| 2018 | Template:Sort | No Group Stage | Lost to IPL Supernovas in the final | |||||||
| 2019 | Template:Sort | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | –0.305 | 3rd | |
| 2020 | Template:Sort | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +2.109 | 1st | Won against IPL Supernovas in the final |
Statistics
Women's T20 Challenge
| Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Tied | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 2020 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Total | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL Supernovas | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| IPL Velocity | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
References
- ↑ Exhibition T20 aspires to lay a little foundation for a Women's IPL.
- ↑ Squads Announced for Women's T20 Challenge Match.
- ↑ Suzie Bates, Ellyse Perry call the shots in last-ball cliffhanger. International Cricket Council.
- ↑ Trailblazers v Supernovas, May 22 2018 Scorecard.
- ↑ Women's T20 Challenge a step towards an IPL for Harmanpreet, Mandhana and Co.
- ↑ Trailblazers v Supernovas, May 6 2019 Scorecard.
- ↑ Trailblazers v Velocity, May 8 2019 Scorecard.
- ↑ Women's T20 Challenge-Points Table. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ Sourav Ganguly: Women's T20 Challenge during IPL 'very much on'. ESPNCricinfo(3 August 2020).
- ↑ Velocity v Trailblazers, November 5 2020 Scorecard.
- ↑ Atapattu and Yadav stand tall as Supernovas and Trailblazers make the final.
- ↑ Smriti Mandhana 68, Salma Khatun three-for lead Trailblazers to 2020 Women's T20 Challenge title.
- ↑ BCCI ANNOUNCES SQUADS FOR WOMEN’S T20 CHALLENGE.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Women's T20 Challenge Records. ESPNCricinfo.