Indian women’s cricket team produced a clinical performance as they thrashed their Bangladeshi counterparts by 72 runs in the opening group league fixture of the ICC World T20, on Tuesday.
Batting first, India scored 163 for five, with skipper Mithali Raj scoring 42 off 35 balls and the hard-hitting Harmanpreet Kaur smashing 40 off 29 balls with three fours and two huge sixes.
In reply, Bangladesh managed only 91 for five in 20 overs.
Put into bat, skipper Raj and her opening partner V.R. Vanitha (38, 24 balls, 7x4) added 62 runs for the opening wicket.
Mithali was picked up by leg-spinner Rumana Ahmed.
With scoreboard reading 95 for 2 in 15th over, Harmanpreet upped the tempo with two sixes — one off Khadija’s bowling, hit over long-off and the other one was over deep mid-wicket off leg-break bowler Rumana.
In 18th over, Harmanpreet clobbered two consecutive boundaries of Rumana. The shots were treat to watch as she hammered one over midwicket and followed it up by whipping the between deep midwicket and long-on.
Harmanpreet, however lost her patience and was holed out to deep midwicket after she pulled Rumana into the hands of Nahida.
Veda Krishnamurthy, who remained not out on 36 off 24 balls, walked in at 95 for three in 13.3 overs and stitched a useful 45 runs partnership for fourth wicket in the company of Harmanpreet. In the 19th over, Krishnamurthy hammered two sixes of Fahima Khatun to post the India’s total past 150 runs.
