Asian Games 2023: India enter women's cricket final, beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets

Digital Desk: The Indian women's cricket team defeated Bangladesh on Sunday by an amazing margin of 8 wickets, advancing to the Hangzhou Asian Games final. Among the Indian batters, Jemimah Rodrigues stood out, scoring 20 runs off just 15 balls and making a significant contribution to India's total of 52 runs in just 8.2 overs.

The right-arm pacer Pooja Vastrakar, on the other hand, led the bowling attack and was crucial in keeping Bangladesh to just 51 runs. By dismissing Shathi Rani and Shamima Sultana from the match early on, she set the tone for the innings and stopped them from having a big impact on the score.

Vastrakar took her first wicket after forcing Shathi Rani (0) to edge the ball behind the stumps, where wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh made an outstanding catch. With her career-best figures of 4 wickets for just 17 runs, the talented right-arm pacer ended the game.

Vastrakar delivered a total of 18 dot balls, crushing the Bangladeshi batting order with her new-ball partner Titas Sadhu. Additionally, the spinners Deepti Sharma (0/4 from 2 overs), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/8 from 3.5 overs), and leg-spinner Devika Vaidya (1/0 from 1 over) kept the Bangladeshi batsmen under strain.

Only Nigar Sultana (12) managed to reach double figures as Bangladesh was knocked out for their lowest T-20 total against India after only 17.2 overs.

Jemimah's heroics made the run chase for the Indian side appear straightforward, despite the fact that the team's captain Smriti Mandhana (7) and Shafali Verma (17) lost their wickets early on in the chase.

India will now compete in the 2023 Asian Games final on Monday with, their opponents yet to be determined.