The Women in Blue did not put a single foot wrong on Tuesday
when they faced their eastern neighbours Bangladesh in the opening game of ICC
World T20 2016. The visitors won the toss and elected to field first. Mithali
Raj-lead India was more than happy to go out there and express themselves.
Skipper Mithali (42) and opening bat Vellaswamy Vanitha (38) smacked the
Bangladeshi bowlers all-round the park. They stitched a wonderful 62-run partnership
in 46 balls. It was not yet over. Though India lost its star batswoman Smriti
Mandhana (0) cheaply, Harmanpreet Kaur (40) and Veda Krishnamurthy (36*) ensured
their team posted a challenging total on board. India finished off with its
highest ever T20 score of 163-5 in 20 overs. The Indian batting was top class.
Fahima Khatun and Rumana Ahmed were the pick of the bowlers with couple of
wickets apiece.
Bangladesh’s approach never looked like they would chase down
this mountain-like target. The hosts bowled well to restrict the visitors for a
paltry 91-5, thus winning the match by a huge margin of 72 runs. Spin twins Anuja
Patil and Poonam Yadav were brilliant with the ball as they grabbed up two
wickets each. Wicket-keeper Nigar Sultana top scored with 27 runs, withy
opening bat Sharmin Akhter chipping in 21 runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur was declared as the Man of the Match for
her fantastic batting display. India plays its next match against arch rivals
Pakistan on Saturday at Delhi.
Brief Scores: India
Women 163-5 in 20 overs (M Raj 42, H Kaur 40, V Vanitha 38, V Krishnamurthy
36*; F Khatun 2-31, R Ahmed 2-35) beat Bangladesh Women 91-5 in 20 overs (N
Sultana 27*, S Akhter 21, A Patil 2-16, P Yadav 2-17) by 72 runs
Source:www.espncricinfo.com
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