India produced a clinical performance to thrash Bangladesh by 72 runs in the opening league fixture of the ICC Women’s World T20, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
Batting first, India put up a healthy 163 for five, skipper Mithali Raj scoring 42 off 35 balls and the hard-hitting Harmanpreet Kaur 40 off 29, which included three fours and two huge sixes.
In reply, Bangladesh could only manage 91 for five in 20 overs.
Openers Raj and V R Vanitha (38 off 24 balls, 7x4) added 62 runs for the opening wicket.
The former started her innings by cracking back-to-back boundaries off Salma Khatun in the second over of the match.
Vanitha was severe on Salma as she punished the spinner for two boundaries in her second over.
She then changed gears and played some aerial shots to up the ante. First she lifted Lata Mondal straight through the line over mid-off by planting the foot forward.
She executed a classy lofted shot straight down the ground off Fahima for a boundary before falling to Nahida after putting up 62 runs for first wicket in 7.4 overs.
Bangladesh tasted success soon after as Smriti Mandhana was out leg before to Fahima Khatun without scoring.
With scoreboard reading 95 for 2 in 15th over, Harmanpreet upped the tempo with two sixes ---- one off Khadija's bowling, hit over long-off and the other over deep mid-wicket off leg-break bowler Rumana.
Raj was lucky when on 28 as Khadija Tul Kubra spilled a return catch.
Leg-spinner Rumana Ahmed, however, foxed her and she ended up giving a dolly to Jahanara Alam.
In 18th over, Harmanpreet clobbered two consecutive boundaries off Rumana. The shots were a treat to watch as she hammered one over midwicket and followed it up by whipping the other between deep midwicket and long-on.
She, however, holed out to deep midwicket, pulling Rumana into the hands of Nahida.
Veda Krishnamurthy, who remained not out on 36 off 24 balls, walked in at 95 for three in 13.3 overs and stitched a useful 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket in the company of Harmanpreet.
Krishnamurthy hammered two sixes of Fahima Khatun in the 19th over to take India's total past the 150 mark.
In a thoroughly dominating performance from start to finish, India pushed the visitors into a hole early on by reducing them to 35 for three in 10 overs.
None of the Bangladesh batswomen could stitch a worthy partnership which could have steadied the ship.
To their credit, the Indian bowlers, especially spinners Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav, who bagged two wickets each, ensured that the visiting team could never get easy runs.
Brief Scores:
India: 163-5 (Mithali raj 42, Harmanpreet Kaur 40, Veda Krishnamurthy 36 not out, VR Vanitha 38).
Bangladesh: 91-5 (Anuja Patil 2-16, Poonam Yadav 2-17).
