1st T20: Harmanpreet leads India to 7-wicket win over Bangladesh

Back on the field after 135 days, the Indian women's cricket team would not have imagined that beating Bangladesh in a T20 tie would be a cakewalk. The first game of the tour turned out exactly that at Mirpur on Sunday. Bangladesh failed to offer much resistance in the first game of the three-match series as India outclassed the hosts by seven wickets with 22 balls left.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur starred in the chase with an unbeaten half-century. Choosing to bowl, India dismissed the hosts for 114/5 in 20 overs with debutant spinners Minnu Mani (off-break) and Bareddy Anusha (left-arm) in focus. India scored 118/3 in 16.2 overs in reply.

Bangladesh top order batters, Shathi Rani (22), Shamima Sultana (17) and Sobhana Mostary (23) did most of their scoring and made use of the powerplay to make the modest score possible. It was Mani, from Wayanad, Kerala, who struck first by removing Sultana before medium-pacer Pooja Vastrakar bowled Rani. Skipper Kaur persisted with the part-time spin of Shafali Verma, who had Mostary stumped in the 16th over.

The inexperienced Bangladesh team could not capitalise on a good run rate and scored 100 runs in 17.5 overs. Batting at No.5, Shorna Akter chipped in with an unbeaten 28-ball 28 to take her team to 114. Left-arm spinner Bareddy, from Andhra Pradesh, returned 0-24 from her four overs. Medium-pacer Amanjot Kaur too was ordinary, conceding 19 runs in two overs. Seasoned spinner Deepti Sharma bowled well, conceding 14 runs in her four overs.

In India’s reply, openers Verma and Smriti Mandhana looked to go after the bowlers. But Verma fell for nought, off the third ball of the first over bowled by Marufa Akter. Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues then got going. While Mandhana looked composed, Rodrigues was in a hurry to finish off the chase, only to be bowled by spinner Sultana Khatun for 11.

It brought Kaur to the crease. Showing off their experience, the third wicket pair raised a 70-run partnership. Kaur was dropped on 22 and made sure she finished the chase. Mandhana was out for 38 (34b) before Kaur hit the winning runs. Kaur was 54 not out (35b, 6x4, 2x6) along with Yastika Bhatia (9*) in the end.

Speaking after the win, Kaur said, “It was a great effort. The bowlers, especially the young girls, did really well. I wanted to see how they were going to bowl in the first six overs. Both of them (debutants) understood the conditions very early. Deepti too bowled well. She is an experienced bowler and she showed that today. We wanted to finish four-five overs early and I am really happy we were able to do that.” The second T20I will be played on Tuesday.

On Mandhana’s knock, Kaur said: “She is always ready to give her 100% for the team and she showed her character today as well. When you have batters like Smriti and Shafali, you need not worry too much.”