Indian Women’s cricket team registered a comprehensive win over traditional-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup T20 2018 at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur. Chasing a paltry target of 73 runs, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana guided their side home with a partnership of 65 runs for the third wicket. With this win, India have qualified for the finals of the Women’s Asia Cup T20.

Pakistan, opting to bat first, had to face some disciplined bowling by India. Pakistan batters could not score freely and as a result, they were restricted to a below-par total. Only two Pakistan batters- opener Nahida Khan and Sana Mir managed to score in double digits with latter’s 20 being the highest.

For India, Ekta Bisht returned impressive figures of 3/14 in her quota of four overs. Besides her, Shikha Pandey, Anuja Patil, Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma chipped in with a wicket each.

In response, India despite getting off to a poor start reached the target with seven wickets to spare in 16.1 overs. Team India lost senior batter Mithali Raj for a duck in the first over of their chase as she was bowled by Anam Amin. The spinner then struck in her second over again to remove Deepti Sharma for a duck as well. At that point in time, India were five for two.

It was then the duo of experienced batters Mandhana and Harmanpreet which not only bailed India out of trouble but took them close to the target. The duo added the 65-run stand. While Mandhana (38) was dismissed in the 16th over, skipper Harmanpreet finished unbeaten on 34.

The win was India’s fourth out of five matches as they continue to occupy the top spot on the points table. India’s lone defeat in the tournament came surprisingly against Bangladesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 09, 2018 10:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).