Pacers Renuka Singh Thakur and Pooja Vastrakar bowl India to victory in the 1st T20I as World Cup preparations get underway.
As we get closer to the big ICC event later this year, the qualified teams have already begun their preparations for the T20 World Cup later this year. The Indian women’s team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is visiting Bangladesh led by skipper Nigar Sultana Joty for a limited-overs series that includes a five-match T20I series that commenced on 28th April 2024 and will conclude on 9th May 2024.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first. The Indian openers Smriti Mandhana at Shafali Verma got off to a steady start before they lost the wicket of their opening batter Smriti Mandhana in the 3rd over of the innings. Fariha Trisna provided the first breakthrough for Bangladesh. Yastika Bhatia joined Shafali Verma at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 43-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Rabeya Khan picked up the wicket of Shafali Verma to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Yastika Bhatia at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 45-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Fahima Khatun picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Bangladesh. Yastika Bhatia soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for Bangladesh. Sajeevan Sajana joined wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh at the crease and the duo stitched a 19-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Rabeya Khan came back and picked up the wicket of Sajeevan Sajana to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side.
India eventually ended up with a total of 145/7 in their quota of overs. Yastika Bhatia (36 off 29 balls), Shafali Verma (31 off 22 balls), and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (30 off 22 balls) were the top performers with the bat for India. Rabeya Khan (4-0-23-3), Marufa Akter (3-0-13-2), and Fariha Trisna (3-0-23-1) were the top performers with the ball for Bangladesh.
Chasing a target of 146, Bangladesh got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Dilara Akter in the 3rd ball of the run chase. Renuka Singh Thakur provided the first breakthrough for India. Sobhana Mostary joined Murshida Khatun at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 19-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Renuka Singh Thakur picked up the wicket of Sobhana Mostary to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Bangladesh lost a couple of wickets in quick succession and found themselves at 30/4 in the 7th over of the run chase. Shorna Akter joined skipper Nigar Sultana at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 32-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Radha Yadav picked up the wicket of Shorna Akter to provide the 5th breakthrough for India. Rabeya Khan joined skipper Nigar Sultana at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 16-run partnership for the 6th wicket before Renuka Singh Thakur came back and picked up the wicket of Rabeya Khan to provide the 6th breakthrough for her side.
Nahida Akter joined skipper Nigar Sultana Joty at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 21-run partnership for the 7th wicket before Shreyanka Patil cleaned up Nahida Akter to provide the 7th breakthrough for India. Bangladesh was eventually restricted to 101/8 in their quota of overs, falling 44 runs short of the target. Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty (51 off 48 balls), Murshida Khatun (13 off 18 balls), and Shorna Akter (11 off 18 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Bangladesh.
Renuka Singh Thakur (4-0-18-3), Pooja Vastrakar (4-0-25-2), Deepti Sharma (4-0-15-1), and Radha Yadav (4-0-19-1) were the top performers with the ball for India. Renuka Singh Thakur was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational match-winning spell (4-0-18-3) with the ball. She played a crucial role in helping India go 1-0 up in a five-match T20I series with a 44-run victory in the 1st T20I at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.