In a tournament that lasts barely a few days and with a churn of foreign players each year, the weight attached to the position of defendin...
In a tournament that lasts barely a few days and with a churn of foreign players each year, the weight attached to the position of defending champions cannot be taken too seriously. But when Harmanpreet Kaur leads out the Supernovas in the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge in Sharjah on Monday, that would not matter to her.
Kaur’s Supernovas will be eyeing a third straight title in the exhibition tournament when they face a determined Trailblazers in the final. Smriti Mandhana and Co have arguably looked like the best side overall in the tournament so far, but Supernovas certainly have the firepower to make it back-to-back wins in the 2020 edition and three straight titles overall.
Intangible it might be, but Supernovas will have momentum behind them, having beaten Mandhana’e team in the last round-robin game on Saturday. But only just.
Supernovas, champions in 2018 and 2019, managed to ward off their rivals in a last-over thriller. The two-run victory enabled the Supernovas to enter the final, while knocking the Mithali-Raj led Velocity out of the competition.
Indeed it would have been cruel, and a representation of how unplanned and...
