World T20: Indian women begin campaign with emphatic victory over Bangladesh
The Indian women’s team registered an emphatic 72-run victory against Bangladesh in the opening game in Women’s World T20 at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Batting first, India scored their highest T20I total before restricting Bangladesh to 91/5 to win the match.
Brief Scores: India 163/5 in 20 overs (Mithali Raj 42(35), Harmanpreet 40(29), Fahima Khatun 2/31) beat Bangladesh 91/5 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 27*(25), Anuja Patil 2/16, Poonam Yadav 2/17) by 72 runs
Chasing 164 at 8.2 runs an over, Bangladesh got off to a slow start, scoring only 22 runs in the powerplay. With clouds looming large over the Chinnaswamy stadium, the away side’s innings also looked in a similar state after losing two wickets in the first seven overs. Right arm off spinner Anuja Patil and legspinner Poonam Yadav sent back Ayasha Rahman and Sanjida Islam respectively with the other taking the catch.
Bangladesh went three down in the tenth over after Sharmin Akhter was sent back by a direct hit from cover by substitute Deepti Sharma. Wickets continued to tumble for the away side as India swamped all over the Bangladesh team giving them no chance to score. Rumana Ahmed fell to a flighted one outside the off-stump from Poonam Yadav after sending it straight down the throat of Anuja Patil at deep midwicket.
Fahima Khatun and Jahanara Alam delayed the inevitable by joining hands to form a 22-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but they finally finished at 91/5 to give the hosts an emphatic 72-run victory in the opening game of the tournament.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Bangladesh captain Jahanara Alam opted to send hosts India to bat on a batting-friendly track at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. Having gotten used to the conditions with two convincing wins in the warm-up matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka, Indian skipper Mithali Raj gleefully accepted the offer and took on the mantle to put up a huge score on the board along with her opening partner Vellaswamy Vanitha. Continuing their good run with the bat, the duo took on the Bangladesh bowling attack and raced past the fifty-run mark within the powerplay overs.
But, India’s rollicking start suffered its first blow in the eighth over after left-arm spinner Nahida
A mid-innings collapse was on the cards with the hosts struggling at 63/2 in the ninth over, but skipper Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur joined hands and took the team out of the woods with a steady 32-run partnership. The skipper fell in the 14th over for 42 off 35 balls after trying to improve the scoring rate only to chip it straight to Rumana Ahmed at the cover to gift an easy wicket to the opposition skipper.
At 95/3 in the 14th over, 140 looked a probable score for the Indians, but Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy walked into the middle with different plans in their mind. The duo smashed two sixes each in the last six overs with Harmanpreet scoring 40 off 29 and Veda accumulating a 24-ball 36. A flurry of wickets in the final three overs slowed the scoring rate a bit, but 22 runs in the last two overs helped India score their highest score in T20Is - 163/5.
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