Sophie Ecclestone grabbed four wickets for just nine runs in a sensational bowling display to help Trailblazers begin their Women’s T20 Challenge campaign with a thumping nine-wicket win over Velocity at the Sharjah Stadium on Thursday.

The England left-arm spinner, No.1 in the T20I rankings, was well supported by Jhulan Goswami (2/13) and Rajeshwari Gaekawad (2/13) as Trailblazers bundled Velocity out for a paltry 47 in 15.1 overs. The Trailblazers then chased down the small target of 48 in just 7.5 overs with opener Deandra Dottin and Siliguri girl Richa Ghosh remaining not out on 29 and 13, respectively.

In spite of their win against Supernovas in Wednesday’s opener, the Mithali Raj-led Velocity’s net run rate would take a beating after such a crushing defeat as this could hit them really hard.

“It was a good game after all of these months,” Trailblazers skipper Smriti Mandhana said after the match.

“I was going to bowl first anyway, so I was happy with Mithalidi’s decision (to bat first after winning the toss). We wanted to have a good look at the wicket and wanted to know the target to chase down.”

“I just told the bowlers to keep it back of a length, at the stumps, and look to the pitch to do the rest,” Smriti added.

Earlier, Ecclestone relentlessly attacked the stumps with her sliders to end with dream figures of 4/9 in 3.1 overs. “It’s great to be with a great bunch of girls,” she said.

“When the wickets aren’t offering any turn, you keep varying the pace and look to bowl as straight as possible. It’s nice to get a few wickets.”

Brief scores: Velocity 47 in 15.1 ovs (S. Ecclestone 4/9). Trailblazers 49/1 in 7.5 ovs (D. Dottin 29 n.o.). Trailblazers won by 9 wickets.