After 23 games and 12 days of action, there came time for the Final of the 8th edition of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup which had in store an India vs Sri Lanka face-off. The two sides advanced to the Final following their respective wins against Thailand and Pakistan in the Semi-Final.
Match : Final – Women’s Asia Cup 2022
Sri Lanka – 65/9 (20.0)
India – 71/2 (8.3)
Sri Lanka having won the toss, opt to bat first but had a poor start as Chamari Athapaththu on 6(12) was run out with 8 on board and in the very next over, Harshitha Madavi on 1(5) and Hasini Perera on 0(1) were dismissed and between the wickets of the two, Anushka Sanjeewani on 2(4) was run out. The team hat-trick was shortly followed with the wicket of Kavisha Dilhari on 1(5) and inside the powerplay, Sri Lanka had lost half its side for 16 on board. The following over saw Nilakshi de Silva depart on 6(8) and just when Oshadi Ranasinghe looked to hold an end, the side lost a wicket more as Malsha Shehani on 0(5) departed and Sri Lanka at halfway stage were 7 down for 26. The much-needed start Oshadi managed, came to an end on the score of 13(20) in the 12th over with 38 on board and Sugandika Kumari off her 11th with a single, got her innings underway that soon came to a close on 6(24) with 43 on board in the 16th over. With a wicket in hand and 4 overs to play, Inoka Ranaweera was accompanied by Achini Kulasuriya and the pair put on a 22*-run stand that guided Sri Lanka’s total to 65.
Excellent from the Indian bowlers to restrict Sri Lanka to just 65 Runs
India need 66 in 20 overs to claim the title.#CricketTwitter #WomensAsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/k0kM3i8PRC
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 15, 2022
India in the wickets column had Renuka Singh Thakur top with 3 wickets to her name having finished on figures of 3-1-5-3. Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad followed with a couple each to their names.
India in reply started off with a few singles and after Smriti Mandhana got one away to the fence, she didn’t hold back and went on to smash a couple of maximums and a boundary. Shafali Verma watched it all unfold from the best seat in the oval, but wasn’t for long as she walked back on 5(8) with 32 on board inside 4 overs. In no time, India lost their 2nd as Jemimah Rodrigues on 2(4) was dismissed. Skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur got her innings underway with a boundary, but didn’t have a lot to do as a set and striking Smriti Mandhana took charge. Smriti Mandhana smashed a few boundaries in quick succession to close out on the required and she then with a boundary levelled the scores. With Smriti on 45, India required one for the win and she with a maximum, got India the win and also got to her fifty off 25 balls. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur finished unbeaten on respective scores of 51(25) and 11(14) in handing India an 8-wicket win in the Final to clinch their 7th title in the tournament.
Sri Lanka had Kavisha Dilhari and Inoka Ranaweera bag a wicket each, while the latter also registered economical figures of 3-0-17-1.
Result : India won by 8 wickets
🇮🇳INDIA are ASIA CHAMPIONS for 7th time 🏆
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 15, 2022
