Asian Games: Indian women's cricket team enter final dominates Bangladesh to assure medal
Sep 24, 2023
Hangzhou [China], September 24 : The Indian women's cricket team secured a place in the final of the Asian Games with a thumping 8-wicket victory against Bangladesh to seal their place in the final of Asian Games on Sunday.
Jemimah Rodrigues (20*) with her impressive skills allowed India to coast comfortable to the final. Right-arm pacer Pooja Vastrakar led the charge with the ball as her heroics played a crucial role in restricting Banglades to a score of 51.
A feeling of nostalgia crept in the Indian fans, as less than a month ago the men's team pulled off a similar feat against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final.
India stumbled twice while chasing the paltry score of 51. Openers Smriti Mandhana (7) and Shafali Verma (17) fell victims to pacer Marufa Akter and spinner Fahima Khatun respectively.
Earlier in the innings, Vastrakar spearheaded India's bowling attack with her four-wicket haul to make short work of Bangladesh's batting set-up.
She set the tone of the game by dismissing openers Shathi Rani and Shamima Sultana for a duck each.
Sobhana Mostary soon followed the footsteps towards that led to dugout with a score of 8. Skipper Nigar Sultana was the only batter to cross double digit mark with her score of 12. She was remove from the field by Devika Vaidya following a runout.
Ritu Moni (8), Fahima Khatun (0), Rabeya Khan (3), Nahida Akter (9*), Sultana Khatun (3) and Marufa Akter (0) combined togther to put a total of 23 runs on the board and take Bangladesh's total to 51.
India will play the final on Monday for a gold medal match with their opponents yet to be decided.
