India demolish Bangladesh by 10 wickets to reach the Asia Cup final

India continued their utter domination at the Women’s Asia Cup by reaching yet another final undefeated. 

After putting in to bowl first by the Bangladeshi skipper Nigar Sultana on an excellent track to bat on in Dambulla, the Indian bowlers were on the money from the first ball itself. Except for a wind-assisted six by opener Dilara Akter, the Bangladeshi batters failed to match the heat from the Indian bowlers, and wickets tumbled at a rate of knots. 

Renuka Singh Thakur bowled with a great rhythm for India, picking up three Bangladeshi wickets in the powerplay itself, finishing with figures of 3/10, including bowling a maiden in her four overs. She was rightly adjudged the Player of the Match for this stellar performance with the ball.

"Very happy. It was an important match, pleased to perform well here. I focused on my basics. Whatever I prepared yesterday, I executed that. There was help with the strong breeze. I love to bowl with the new ball," Renuka said in the post-match presentation.

Tanuja Kanwer (0/16), Pooja Vastrakar (1/25), Deepti Sharma (1/14) and Radha Yadav (3/14) didn’t allow the pressure to dissipate from the other end. Except for skipper Sultana, who scored a laborious 32 in 51 deliveries, only Shorna Akter (19* off 18) could show some fight with the bat. None of the other batters even reached the double digits. 

If there was any hope of a comeback in bowling, Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana brutally crushed that down as they started in fine fashion, scoring 46 runs in the powerplay itself. They targetted left-arm spinner Nahida Akter, who conceded 34 runs in her three overs. 

The chase, as it turned out, was a mere formality at the end, as India raced home with all their wickets intact. Mandhana continued her great run with the bat, scoring her third T20I fifty in 2024. 

The second semifinal on July 26 between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will decide who will face India in the final, which is scheduled on Sunday, July 28. 

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