The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Renuka, Harman lead India to facile win over Bangladesh
RENUKA SINGH Thakur had another belowpar WPL season even as Royal Challengers Bengaluru went on to win the title. After picking up just one wicket in 2023, she added only two more in 2024. For a premium bowling asset, three wickets in two seasons is not a worthwhile contribution. But, as she tends to do when wearing India colours, the Powerplay strike bowler reappeared on Sunday in Sylhet as she picked up three wickets in India's 44-run win over Bangladesh to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
There could have been the temptation to go with Titas Sadhu as the main fast bowler, but India stuck with Renuka and she delivered with two wickets in the Powerplay and another later on as Bangladesh's run-chase of 146 never got going. When she is able to nip the ball back in on the angle, she always poses a threat with the new ball. That is exactly what she did in the first over after getting hit for a four, trapping Dilara Akter on the backfoot, as the ball beat the inside edge.
In Renuka's third over, Sobhana Mostary fell to a similar delivery, trying to force the pace but seeing her middle stump rattled. Renuka returned in the 16th over to have Rabeya Khan caught at mid-on, finishing the day with 3/18 from her four overs.
While Renuka walked away with the player of the match award, the defence was a clinical team effort. Pooja Vastrakar chipped in with two wickets, while the three spinners – Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil – were miserly and took a wicket apiece, applying the choke in the middle overs. Radha's tidy return to the international fold would've especially pleased the Indian management given the conditions in Bangladesh they will encounter during th et 20 world cup and her multi-dimensional utility to the team.
“Our bowlers did a great job today, even though the scores were not enough on the board. They took their responsibility well and gave us the win,” skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match. “As a batting group, we wanted to show intent. The last six overs, things didn't go according to plan but till then we played really well.”
Indeed, while the margin of win was big enough for aT 20 I, India' s batting effort was underwhelmingin the second half. from 100/2 in 12.2 overs, the next 46 balls brought just 45 runs. It's been a problem area for a while, as they struggled to accelerate. Eventually, 145/7 was good enough, given Bangladesh had never scored more than 113 while batting second in a home T20I. But given the main aim of this series is to prepare for the World Cup in Bangladesh later this year, India must be selfcriticalwhentheyevaluatetheirperformances, going beyond just wins or losses.
On the bright side, Harmanpreet batted better than the last time she donned India's blue. After the poor run in the home season, she took a break and went back to the drawing board and looked in much better rhythm during the WPL. During the time she spent in the middle, the skipper looked fluent once more, timing the ball better than anyone else on the day during a 22-ball 30. Her team would need more of that, and deeper in the innings, as they look to address batting issues.
BRIEF SCORES: India 145/7 in 20 overs (Yastika 36, Shafali 31, Harmanpreet 30; Rabeya 3/23) beat Bangladesh (Nigar 51; Renuka 3/18) by 44 runs
Our bowlers did a great job today, even though the scores were not enough on the board. They took their responsibility well and gave us the win. As a batting group, we wanted to show intent. The last six overs, things didn't go according to plan but till then we played really welle.”
--HARMANPREET KAUR
INDIA SKIPPER