Mandhana vs Harmanpreet, plus Ecclestone, Dottin and Salma - need we say more?
The Women's T20 Challenge opener pits the two teams to have combined to win all the editions so far, and promises big entertainment
Defending champions Trailblazers, led by Smriti Mandhana, take on Harmanpreet Kaur's Supernovas, two-time champions in what is a three-season tournament. Play begins at 7:30pm local time at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
Since locking horns in the inaugural edition, held as a one-off exhibition game in Mumbai in 2018, the two sides have faced each other a further four times, including in two finals. While Supernovas rode Harmanpreet's 37-ball 51 to win the title clash in 2019, Mandhana's 49-ball 68 gave Trailblazers the trophy in Sharjah in 2020.
Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Taniya Bhatia (vice-capt), Alana King*, Ayushi Soni, Chandu V, Deandra Dottin*, Harleen Deol, Meghna Singh, Monica Patel, Muskan Malik, Pooja Vastrakar, Priya Punia, Rashi Kanojia, Sophie Ecclestone*, Sune Luus*, Mansi Joshi.
NOTE: * denotes overseas player
Smriti Mandhana: The opening batter struck one half-century in her 236 runs in eight innings at the recent Senior Women's T20 Trophy, where she led Maharashtra to a runners-up finish. Her highest score in the tournament, 84 against Railways in the final in Surat, came in a losing cause.
Sophie Ecclestone vs the rest of the world: The No. 1 bowler in the women's game comes off a blockbuster FairBreak Invitational and ODI World Cup, finishing atop the wicket charts in both tournaments. Having played for Mandhana's Trailblazers since her Women's T20 Challenge debut in 2019, the England and Supernovas left-arm spinner could well have serious questions to ask of her former captain (as she likely will of anyone given her red-hot form). Also, if Ecclestone's newly cultivated boundary-clearing prowess is anything to go by, on view in ample measure at the nets on Sunday, she could be a threat with the bat, too.
Annesha Ghosh is a freelance sports journalist. @ghosh_annesha