Bangladesh cricket team on Wednesday emerged as the champions of the T20 Quadrangular series being played in Patna. Ably led by captain Salma Khatun and charged by pace battery Jahanara Alam, the women in green thrashed rivals India B by 14 runs in the final match of the tournament.
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat first. After losing opener Shamima Sultana early on to a runout, Murshida Khatun and Sanjida Aslam steadied the innings. The pair added 60 runs for the second wicket. When the stage looked set to accelerate, Nupur Kohale picked up the two batters in a span of two balls in the 13th over. Wicketkeeper batswoman Nigar Sultana then contributed 18 runs in the middle overs.
But soon, the batting lineup tumbled as the next five batters could only manage single-digit scores. Tanuja Kanwar had a key role in spiraling the opponent’s innings down. She picked up three wickets for India B and bowled with an impressive economy of 3.5. Bangladesh could only manage a modest first inning total of 117 for the loss of 7 wickets.
The target surely looked a breeze task for India B who had remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. However, they had a shaky start to their chase. In the very first over, Bangla pacer Jahanara Alam sent back in form batter Sabbhineni Meghana for a duck. Yastika Bhatia perished to off-breaks from Salma Khatun while another lethal spell by Jahanara Alam dismissed wicketkeeper Shivali Shinde for a score of 1. India B captain Sneh Rana stood ground and made 7 runs before she was bowled by Nahida Akter. India B was reeling at 25 for four at the end of the powerplay.
The hosts heaved a sigh of relief when Tejal Hasabnis provided some stability in the middle making 34 runs from 33 balls. All-rounder Minnu Mani chipped in crucial 17 runs before she was sent packing by Salma Khatun. Having done her job with the ball earlier in the day, Tanuja Kanwar remained not out at the end contributing 21 from 16 balls. However, the asking rate had spiked quite a lot and the effort fell short in taking India B par the finish line.
Bangladesh women won the match by 14 runs and clinched the title to their name. Hence, proven that playing to one’s strengths, backing the bowlers and bringing in international experience to the front never disappoints.
The second match for the day had India A and Thailand facing off for the third place in the tournament. The Thailand scorecard presented a sorry state of affairs with only a single batter managing a double-digit score. The inning fell like a pack of cards and the Thai eves were all bundled out for 45 runs. India A spinner Sushree Dibyadarshini picked up three wickets while Komal Zanzad scalped four. India A won the match by 7 wickets with Madhuri Mehta remaining unbeaten at the end (21 runs off 36 balls).
