"I was slightly surprised that you didn't play her in the last match" - Reema Malhotra lauds S Meghana's knock for Trailblazers vs Velocity

Reema Malhotra has lauded S Meghana for playing a match-winning knock for the Trailblazers in their Thursday's (May 26) Women's T20 challenge 2022 game against Velocity.

Meghana smashed 73 runs off just 47 balls, a knock studded with seven fours and four sixes. Her innings helped Smriti Mandhana's side set a massive 191-run target for Velocity and they went on to win the match by 16 runs.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Reema Malhotra was asked about her views on Meghana's knock. She responded:

"I was slightly surprised that you didn't play her in the last match and if you had played her, you might have been in a different situation. But the good thing was they played S Meghana here and the destructive shots she is known for, she started exactly like that."

The former India leg-spinner was particularly appreciative of Meghana for sticking to her game and playing with confidence. Malhotra elaborated:

"She likes to play straight down the ground, we saw those shots. You should see the confidence level, it shows that you had the form. It was not a normal game, it was a high-pressure game, it was a do-or-die match and the start S Meghana gave kept the Trailblazers alive."

Meghana was left out of the Trailblazers playing XI for their first match against Supernovas. However, with the defending champions suffering a 49-run defeat in that game, she was included in the side at the expense of Bangladesh's Sharmin Akhter.

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"If Trailblazers were in this match, the reason for that was S Meghana" - Snehal Pradhan

Jemimah Rodrigues and Meghana strung together a 113-run partnership [P/C: iplt20.com]

Snehal Pradhan also termed Meghana's exclusion from the Trailblazers' playing XI for their match against Supernovas a surprising call. She observed:

"If Trailblazers were in this match, the reason for that was S Meghana and the way she played. The form she had in domestic cricket, it was quite surprising that she didn't play the first match."

However, she praised the team management for correcting their mistake and Meghana for grabbing her chance. Pradhan said:

"We saw positive cricket, not just on the field in the form of Meghana's batting but also off the field in the decision making. They said that they will play S Meghana even if they had to play an overseas player fewer, the batting becomes stronger. They wanted to play Meghana and Jemimah together in the XI and both scored runs."

Meghana and Jemimah Rodrigues' partnership after Mandhana's early dismissal gave the Trailblazers hopes of qualifying for the final. However, they could only win the match by 16 runs while a 32-run margin was required for them to qualify for the title decider.