Sophie Ecclestone shined for Trailblazers as the side thrashed Velocity by nine wickets in the Women's T20 Challenge on Thursday. Mithali Raj's side registered a thrilling five-wicket win in its first match on Wednesday against Supernovas, but fell like a pack of cards in their second and final match of the round-robin phase.
Ecclestone took four wickets as Trailblazers bowled Velocity out on merely 47, with only three batters -- Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey and Leigh Kasperek managing to cross the double figures.
By the time the powerplay came to an end Velocity found themselves tottering at 22/5. Rajeshwari Gayakwad then took consecutive wickets in the ninth over to reduce the batting side to 27/7. Ecclestone finished things off by dismissing Jahanara Alam off the first ball of the 16th over.
Danielle Wyatt (3), Mithali Raj (1), Veda Krishnamurthy (0), Sushma Verma (1) and Sune Luus (4) failed to step up in the batting order, as Velocity collapsed in the innings.
The chase was a cakewalk for Trailblazers as they chased the target in merely 7.5 overs. While Deandra Dottin remained unbeaten on 27, Richa Ghosh hit the winning runs, scoring 13. Smriti Mandhana, however, was dismissed early as she could only score 6.
The loss had a big impact on Velocity's Net Run Rate, as they currently stand second in the table with the NRR of -1.869. Trailblazers, meanwhile, are at the top with the NRR of +3.905.
Trailblazers will play their final match of the league phase against Supernovas, who will secure a place in the final with a win.
