Indian women crush Pakistan

ASIA CUP Ekta picks three wickets in win, holders set up final vs Bangladesh

A dominant India sailed into the final of the women’s Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament with a seven-wicket drubbing of arch-rivals Pakistan in their last round robin match here on Saturday.

India will face Bangladesh in the final on Sunday. Bangladesh defeated Malaysia by 70 runs on Saturday and finished above Pakistan in the points table . India had lost to Bangladesh in the league stage.

Pakistan elected to bat but India bowled well to restrict them to 72 for seven in 20 overs at the Kinrara Academy Oval.

Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was the most successful bowler, claiming impressive figures of 3/14 in four overs. The others chipped in with a scalp apiece, although pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami went wicketless. Bisht was named Player of the Match.

Chasing a meagre target, India completed the task with as many as 23 balls to spare.

Opener Smriti Mandhana topscored with 38 off 40 balls while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur made 34 in 49 deliveries.

India were off to a poor start as they lost Raj and Sharma with just five runs on the board in the third over. The duo of Mandhana and Harmanpreet then added 65 runs for the third wicket.

Mandhana got out with three runs needed but Harmanpreet saw the side home.

Earlier, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. Sana Mir top-scored with 20.

In another match, Bangladesh scored 130 for four with contributions from Shamima Sultana (43) and Ayasha Rahman (31). They restricted Malaysia to 60 for 9 in 20 overs with vice-captain Rumana Ahmed picking up three wickets.

Brief scores: Pakistan 72/7 in 20 overs (Sana Mir 20; Ekta Bisht 3/14) lost to India 75/3 in 16.1 overs (S Mandhana 38, Harmanpreet Singh 34 not out; Anam Amin 2/10) by 7 wickets.

Bangladesh 130/4 in 20 overs (Shamima Sultana 43, Ayasha Rahman 31; W Duraisingam 2/19) beat Malaysia 60/9 in 20 overs (Rumana Ahmed 3/8) by 70 runs.

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