Spinners shine in skipper Harmanpreet Kaur 300th International appearance as India makes it 4-0 with a comprehensive victory in a rain-curtailed encounter.
The Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana guided India to a comprehensive 7-wicket victory in the 3rd T20I to seal the five-match T20I series. Shafali Verma was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning performance (51 off 38 balls) with the bat.
The Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty won the toss and opted to field first in the 4th T20I. Both sides made a few changes to their playing 11. As far as the visitors, India are concerned, the 33-year-old leg-spinner from Kerela was handed her debut cap. She became the oldest player to make her T20I debut for India and overall, the third oldest Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. She replaced Shreyanka Patil and Renuka Singh was replaced by Titas Sadhu in the playing 11. There were three changes for the home side. The 14-year-old bowler Habiba Islam Pinky became the 2nd youngest debutant (14 years and 340 days) from a full-member nation after the leg-spinner Rabeya Khan (14 years and 268 days) who made her debut against Nepal on 4th December 2019. She replaced Fariha Trisna, Fahima Khatun was replaced by Shorna Akter, and Sobhana Mostary was replaced by Rubya Haider in the playing 11.
After being inserted to bat first, India got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Shafali Verma in the 2nd over of the innings. Shorifa Khatun provided the first breakthrough for Bangladesh. Dayalan Hemalatha joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo led some sort of recovery with a 32-run 2nd wicket partnership. Marufa Akter picked up the wicket of Dayalan Hemalatha to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side in the 5th over of the innings.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, playing her 300th International match joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the rains arrived in the form of hailstorms. The persistent nature of the rains ensured a curtailed encounter, resulting in a 14-overs-per-side contest. The batters resumed and stitched a 24-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Rabeya Khan picked up the wicket of Smriti Mandhana to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Bangladesh.
Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease and the duo took the attack to the opposition with a crucial 44-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Rabeya Khan came back and picked up the much-needed breakthrough for her side. India eventually ended up with a total of 122/6 in their quota of 14 overs. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (39 off 26 balls) became the player to record the 2nd highest score in her 300th International match after former England skipper Charlotte Edwards (45 off 74 balls in the 2nd ODI Vs South Africa on 12th February 2016).
Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (24 off 15 balls), Dayalan Hemalatha (22 off 14 balls), and Smriti Mandhana (22 off 18 balls) were the top performers with the bat for India. Marufa Akter (3-0-24-2), Rabeya Khan (3-0-28-2), and Shorifa Khatun (3-0-29-1) were the top performers with the bat for Bangladesh. Chasing a target of 123, Bangladesh openers Murshida Khatun and Dilara Akter got off to a steady start, scoring almost 6 runs an over. Deepti Sharma picked up the wicket of Murshida Khatun to provide the first breakthrough for India.
Rubya Haider joined Dilara Akter at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 20-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Deepti Sharma came back and picked up the wicket of Dilara Akter to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Bangladesh were eventually restricted to 68/7 in their quota of 14 overs. Bangladesh suffered a collapse as they lost their next five wickets for just 30 runs.
Dilara Akter (21 off 25 balls), Rubya Haider (13 off 17 balls), and Shorifa Khatun (11 off 11 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Bangladesh. Deepti Sharma (3-0-13-2), Radha Yadav (3-1-12-1), debutant Asha Sobhana (3-0-18-2), and Pooja Vastrakar (3-0-15-1) were the top performers with the ball for India.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was awarded the Player of the Match for her crucial contribution (39 off 26 balls) with the bat. She alongside the spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Asha Sobhana, and Radha Yadav played crucial roles in helping India seal a comprehensive 56-run victory to make it 4-0 going into the final T20I of the series.