Indian women’s cricket team qualified for the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024 final after defeating Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the first semi-final which was played at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Friday.
Chasing the target of 81 runs, India had no trouble as their openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana guided their side home in just 11 overs.
Verman scored 26 off 28 deliveries while Mandhana scored a brilliant half-century, scoring 55 runs on 39 balls with the help of nine fours and a six.
With their place in the final cemented, India will wait for one of Pakistan or Sri Lanka in the final to compete for the trophy.
Earlier, opting to bat first, things did not go Bangladesh’s way as the Indian bowling attack gave their players no room to settle down. Three of their top-order players — Dilara Akter (6), Murshida Khatun (4) and Ishma Tanjim (8) — returned to the pavilion early in the game.
Skipper Nigar Sultana provided some resistance as she scored 32 runs on 51 balls but her innings was ended by Radha Yadav. Down the order, Shorna Akter contributed 19 runs with two boundaries.
It was an all-round display from the Indian bowlers. Yadav and Renuka Singh picked three wickets each while Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma bagged one each.
Playing XIs
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Uma Chetry, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Thakur Singh
Bangladesh: Dilara Akter, Murshida Khatun, Nigar Sultana (c & wk), Rumana Ahmed, Ishma Tanjim, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Shorna Akter, Nahida Akter, Jahanara Alam, Marufa Akter