India’s women’s team booked a place in the Asian Games cricket final with a commanding 114-run win over Bangladesh in the second semifinal in Tokyo.
At the Korogi Sports Park ground in Japan, India won the toss and chose to bat. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma provided a rapid start, taking the team to 72 in the powerplay before Mandhana fell for 37 off 19 balls. Kamalini was dismissed for 3, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur made 40 and Richa Ghosh scored 2.
Shafali anchored the innings and struck a century, guiding India to 195 for 4 in 20 overs. For Bangladesh, Marufa Akter, Shanjida Akter, Rabaeya and Nahida picked up one wicket each.
Chasing 196, Bangladesh struggled against India’s bowling and were bowled out for 81 in 15.4 overs. Dilara Akter top-scored with 27, while Sultana (12) and Sharmin (10) were the only other batters to reach double figures. Nandini Sharma and Deepti Sharma took three wickets each, Sreesandhini claimed two, and Kranti Goud and Shreyanka Patil took one apiece.
India will face Sri Lanka in the final scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
Mandhana’s milestone came during her 37-run knock, as she overtook New Zealand’s Suzie Bates to become the leading run-scorer in women’s T20 internationals, moving to 4,765 runs ahead of Bates’ 4,758.
