Seamer Renuka Singh’s 3/5 helped India restrict Sri Lanka to a sub-par 65/9, with Smriti Mandhana then leading the way in the chase with an unbeaten 51 off 25 balls.
Seamer Renuka Singh played a key role in India’s comprehensive win over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup final with a haul of 3/5 from three overs. Image credit: Twitter/@BCCIWomen
India produced a dominant all-round show against Sri Lanka, hammering them by eight wickets in the Women’s Asia Cup Final in Sylhet on Saturday to be crowned continental champions for a seventh time.
India pacer Renuka Singh breathed fire in the summit clash, her destructive spell of 3/5 from three overs along with vital contributions from spinners Sneh Rana (2/13) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2/16) restricting the Chamari Athapaththu-led side to a paltry 65/9 after the Lankans won the toss and opted to bat.
In-form opener Smriti Mandhana then led the way with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 51 off just 25 deliveries as the ‘Women in Blue’ chased down the 66-run target with 69 balls remaining to cap off a perfect day in office. Mandhana reached her milestone with a four and a six off Oshadi Ranasinghe, the latter sealing the game in India’s favour.
The Women in Blue got off to a perfect start with a 32-run opening stand between Mandhana and Shafali Verma, but hit a roadblock of sorts with the quick dismissals of Verma (5) and Jemimah Rodrigues (2). Mandhana and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur then ensured there were no further hiccups as they got the side home with an unbroken 36-run third-wicket stand.
India had won six consecutive Asian titles since the tournament first began in 2004, and were strong favourites to win a seventh on the trot in the final against Bangladesh in Kuala Lumpur four years back — only to be handed a stunning defeat by the Salma Khatun-led side.
India, however, lived up to their favourites billing in the 2022 edition — the fourth to be contested in the 20-over format — as they notched up one dominant victory after another during the round-robin stage top finish on top of the table.
Their only loss came at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan, who beat them by 13 runs on Friday, 7 October. Pakistan finished level on points with the Indians, but finished behind on Net Run Rate. They lost out on a rematch with the Indians in the final after suffering a one-run loss to Sri Lanka in the second semi-final.
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