India beat SL in Women’s Asia Cup opener
Sri Lanka suffered a 41-run defeat at the hands of India in their opening game of the Women’s Asia Cup 2022 at Sylhet in Bangladesh yesterday. Put into bat first, the Indian women posted 150 runs for the loss of six wickets and rattled out the Lankan lasses for 109 runs with 10 deliveries to spare.
India struggled to get off to a good start as they lost both openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma when their total was 23 in the fourth over. But a steady partnership of 92 runs between Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for the third wicket helped them put up a decent total.
Rodrigues emerged the top scorer of the game after her entertaining knock of 76 off 53 deliveries, which included 11 fours and a six. Skipper Kaur on the other hand, was more cautious during her knock of 33, which took her only 30 deliveries inclusive of two boundaries and a six.
Off-spinner Oshadi Ranasinghe was the pick of the bowler, as she claimed three scalps conceding 32 runs, while Sudandika Kumari and skipper Chamari Athapaththu grabbed a wicket apiece.
Opener Harshitha Samarawickrama helped Sri Lanka make a positive start after she batted with confidence, but lost support from her partners. Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals despite Hasini Perera putting up a brave fight coming in at number four. Perera top scored for Sri Lanka with 30, which came off 32 balls inclusive of three boundaries, while Samarawickrama made a quick-fire 26 off 20 deliveries also hitting five boundaries.
Off-spinner Dayalan Hemalatha claimed three wickets conceding 15 runs in 2.2 overs while fast bowler Pooja Vastrakar and off-spinner Deepti Sharma claimed two wickets each to tighten up the grip on the Lankan lasses. Sri Lanka will take on United Arab Emirates in their second match of the tournament at the same venue today at 1.00p.m.
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