Radha, Richa set up India’s series sweep
Former nishes as the highest wicket-taker in the series with 10 scalps while Smriti tops the batting charts with 116 runs
RThe victorious Indian women’s team. adha Yadav (three for 24) ran through Bangladesh’s toporder after Richa Ghosh’s quickre unbeaten 28 o 17 balls, setting up India’s 21-run win in the fth T20I and a 5-0 series sweep here on Thursday.
Chasing a 157-run target, Bangladesh began promisingly but collapsed against the left-arm spinner Radha.
Despite the rearguard act by Ritu Moni (37, 33b, 4x4) and Shorifa Khatun (28 n.o., 21b, 3x4), the hosts nished at 135 for six in 20 overs.
All-rounder Moni and Shorifa put on a resolute stand of 57 runs for the sixth wicket to lead the ghtback and dial up the pressure on India, but the visitors prevailed eventually.
The stand between Moni and Shorifa was also Bangladesh's highest for the sixth wicket in Women’s T20Is, breaking the previous record between Sanjida Islam and Nigar Sultana (32).
Earlier, Richa played a cameo (28 n.o., 17b, 3x4, 1x6) to take India to 156 for ve, providing a muchneeded impetus after the visitors stumbled with a ¢urry of wickets.
Quick wickets
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (30), D. Hemalatha (37) and S. Sajana (1) fell in quick succession which allowed hosts Bangladesh to halt India’s progress as it was was aiming for a big total.
Harmanpreet and Hemalatha put on 60 runs for the third wicket for a strong foundation.
Highest total
India’s 156 for ve was the highest total of the series from either team with Smriti Mandhana setting the tone early on, hitting four fours and one six to make a ¢uent 33 o 25 balls.
Radha nished as the highest wicket-taker in the series with 10 dismissals in ve games while Smriti’s 116 runs in ve outings were the most for any batter.
The scores:
India 156/5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 33, Hemalatha 37, Harmanpreet Kaur 30, Richa Ghosh 28 n.o., Rabeya Khan 2/28, Nahida Akter 2/27) bt Bangladesh 135/6 in 20 overs (Ritu Moni 37, Shorifa Khatun 28 n.o., Radha Yadav 3/24, Asha Sobhana 2/25). India clinched series 5-0.
Kerala men bounced back from being 33-49 down at half-time to beat defending champion Uttar Pradesh 92-88 in a group-A league match of the 74th National junior basketball championship in Indore on Thursday.
In the women’s section, Rajasthan surprised Kerala 80-63.
The results:
Men: Group-A: Kerala 92 (Vinay Sankar 28, LR Niranjan 15, Jins Joby 14, Asswin Krishna 12, Niyukth Salil 11) bt Uttar Pradesh 88 (Vedansh Ranot 24, Kunal Singgh 24, Harshit Tomar 14). Chandigarh 70 (Gourav Kumar Singh 19, Himanshu Hooda 12, Ravinder Kaushik 10) bt Punjab 64 (Sahibrjit Singh 20).
Group-B: Rajasthan 64 (Nitesh Kumar 17, Nuhammed Ishan 15, Mayank Jawa 11) bt Andhra Pradesh 24 (Dwaraknatha Reddy 22); Madhya Pradesh 77 (Mohit Jogchand 25, Ajay 12, Kirtiraj Singh 10) bt Odisha 32
(Biswanath Sisa 14).
Women: Group-A: Rajasthan 80 (Priyanka Pal 29, Bhumika Verma 22, Priyanshi Joshi 14) bt Kerala 63 (Amanda Rocha 23).
Madhya Pradesh 66 (Kushpal Singh 29, Guni Agarwal 14) bt Karnataka 56 (Aditi
Subramaniam 19, Tarun Tarushree 18).
Group-B: Maharashtra 98 (Aananya Bhavssar 37, Rajvi Maladhari 18, Gunjan Mantri 11) bt Chhattisgarh 54 (Palakshi Thakur 20, Komalpreet Kaur 17). Gujarat 86 (Archi Patel 30, Aahana George 25, Aradhana Patel 12) bt Uttar Pradesh 77 (Ruby Rajput 24, Anushka Chouhan 23, Saloni Kumari 12).