June 11, 2018 by admin

Women’s Asia Cup: B’desh end India’s hegemony

Kuala Lumpur, Indian women suffered a huge heartbreak when Bangladesh beat them by three wickets to win their maiden Asia Cup trophy here today. It was India’s second loss to the minnows inside a week. The defeat is certain to raise a few uncomfortable questions, especially regarding the utility of veterans Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami in the shortest format.
Needing two runs off the last delivery, Jahanara Alam placed a Harmanpreet Kaur delivery towards deep mid-wicket and scampered for a double to chase down a modest target of 113. For India, skipper Harmanpreet (56 off 42 balls, 2/19) and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (4/9) put in a big effort but an overall poor batting effort undid their good work. “It was a pressure game and we had to control our nerves. We had to bat according to the situation. The batswomen did not handle the nerves,” said Harmanpreet, who was adjudged Player of the Tournament.
Had it not been for Harmanpreet’s innings, India would have struggled to reach the three-figure mark. The top three — Mithali (11 off 18 balls), Smriti Mandhana (7 off 12) and Deepti Sharma (4 off 11 balls) – wasted a lot of deliveries, putting a lot of pressure on the following batswomen.
Brief scores: India: 112/9 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 56; Khadija Tul Kubra 2/23, Rumana Ahmed 2/22); Bangladesh: 113/7 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 27, Rumana Ahmed 23; Poonam Yadav 4/9, Harmanpreet 2/19).