Prior to the Women’s T20 World Cup on Wednesday, India overcame Bangladesh by 52 runs thanks in large part to Richa Ghosh’s attacking unbeaten 91. Choosing to bat, India amassed an impressive 183 for 5 with Ghosh’s bat prowess before limiting Bangladesh to 131 for 8. At No. 4, Ghosh’s innings took just 56 balls to complete with the help of three boundaries and nine over-the-fence knocks. In addition to Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues made a fluid 27-ball 41 while hitting six fours and a six.
However, India didn’t get off to the best of starts, losing three wickets for 35 runs, with Yastika Bhatia (10), Shafali Verma (9), and Harleen Deol (10), the captain of the U-19 T20 World Cup-winning-squad, all leaving cheaply.
Then, Ghosh and Rodrigues launched an offensive on the opposition, putting up a fast 92 runs for the fourth wicket to set the stage for India’s massive score. Nahida Akter, a left-arm spinner, took two wickets for Bangladesh. In their reply, Bangladesh never seemed to be in contention as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Murshida Khatun, the opener, scored 32, while Captain Nigar Sultana, who needed just 36 balls, scored 40.
Leg-break bowler Devika Vaidya (2/21) scalped two wickets for India, while Shafali (1/13), Radha Yadav (1/17), Deepti Sharma (1/15), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/20) and Anjali Sarvani (1/22) picked up a wicket each. India’s campaign will get underway against Pakistan on Sunday when the Women’s T20 World Cup gets underway in Cape Town on Friday.