Bangladesh thrashed hosts Malaysia by 120 runs in the 5th match of the inaugural edition of the Women’s Under-19 T20 Asia Cup. India led by skipper Niki Prasad was up against Nepal led by skipper Puja Mahato in the 6th match of the tournament.
Parunika Sisodia’s four-fer restricts Nepal to mere 94 runs
Anandita Kishor provided India with a good start by picking up the wicket of Sabitri Dhami in the 2nd over of the innings after skipper Niki Prasad won the toss and decided to bowl first. Skipper Puja Mahato joined Sana Praveen at the crease and the duo led a decent recovery with a 36-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark.
Parunika Sisodia picked up the wicket of Sana Praveen to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Another crucial 17-run partnership between skipper Puja Mahato and Sony Pakhrin for the 3rd wicket took them past the 50-run mark. However, a run-out ended skipper Puja Mahato’s (25 off 40 balls) resilient stay at the crease. Nepal eventually ended up with a total of 94/8 in their quota of 20 overs, courtesy of a blazing cameo from the wicket-keeper batter Alisha Yadav (20* off 9 balls).
Parunika Sisodia (4-0-12-4), Aayushi Shukla (4-0-10-0), and Drithi Kesari (4-0-15-0) were the stand-out performers with the ball for India.
Rain plays spoilsport after Indian openers get off to a flying start
The Indian openers Gongadi Trisha (17* off 13 balls) and the wicket-keeper batter G Kamalini (8* off 6 balls) got their side off to a blazing start, chasing a modest total of 95 for the win. The pair were flying along at a rate of around 9 runs an over resulting in an unbeaten 28-run opening stand, before the rains arrived in the 4th over of the run chase, and the game was eventually called off as there was no further play possible.
Both these sides shared one point each from the contest. Nepal climbed to the top of the points table in group A with 3 points from a couple of games, courtesy of a superior net run rate. India is placed 2nd with the same number of points from as many games so far.
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