IPL Trailblazers

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 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]

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]

As per 2020 season.[13]

• No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
• denotes players with international caps.

No.	Name	Nationality	Birth date	Batting Style	Bowling Style	Notes
Batsmen
18	Smriti Mandhana	India	(1996-07-18) 18 July 1996	Left-handed	Right-arm medium	Club captain
–	Punam Raut	India	(1989-10-14) 14 October 1989	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
93	Natthakan Chantam	Thailand	(1996-01-01) 1 January 1996	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	Overseas player
All-rounders
6	Deepti Sharma	India	(1997-08-09) 9 August 1997	Left-handed	Right-arm off break
9	Dayalan Hemalatha	India	(1994-09-29) 29 September 1994	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
21	Harleen Deol	India	(1998-06-21) 21 June 1998	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
25	Jhulan Goswami	India	(1983-11-25) 25 November 1983	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast
3	Salma Khatun	Bangladesh	(1990-10-01) 1 October 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
5	Deandra Dottin	West Indies	(1991-06-21) 21 June 1991	Right-handed	Right-arm Fast-medium	Overseas player
Wicket-keepers
13	Richa Ghosh	India	(2003-11-28) 28 November 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
7	Nuzhat Parween	India	(1996-09-05) 5 September 1996	Right-handed	—
Bowlers
1	Rajeshwari Gayakwad	India	(1991-06-01) 1 June 1991	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
19	Sophie Ecclestone	England	(1999-05-06) 6 May 1999	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	Overseas player
–	Simran Bahadur	India	(1999-12-13) 13 December 1999	Left-handed	Right-arm medium
–	Kashvee Gautam	India	(2003-04-18) 18 April 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm medium