GUWAHATI: The India women's cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, advanced to the finals of the Women's Asia Cup 2024 today, on July 26 by defeating the Bangladesh team, captained by Nigar Sultana, by 10 wickets in the first semi-final in Dambulla. This marks their third ten-wicket victory in the last five matches of the competition.
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Chasing a target of 81 runs, Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana maintained a steady pace, ensuring the Bangladesh bowlers couldn't dominate. India reached the target in just 11 overs, scoring 83 runs. Shafali contributed 26 runs off 28 balls, while Mandhana hit an unbeaten 55 runs off 39 deliveries, including nine fours and one six. Both players remained not out. Renuka Thakur Singh was named the player of the match.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first but struggled, losing wickets at regular intervals. Apart from skipper Nigar Sultana, who scored 32 off 51 balls, no other batter surpassed the 20-run mark. Renuka Singh and Radha Yadav each took three wickets for India, while Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma each claimed one.
The final match of the Asia Cup Women's T20 2024 will be held on July 28 in Dambulla, where India will face the winner of the second semi-final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, to be played today.
Previously, on July 23, the Indian women's cricket team defeated Nepal by 82 runs, and on July 21, they beat the UAE by 78 runs. India began their Asia Cup campaign with a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan on July 19.
