Fiery knocks from Sabbhineni Meghana and Shafali Verma followed by Richa Ghosh’s blistering cameo of 33* helped India post a challenging target of 181/4 against Malaysia in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup 2022 here at Sylhet Outer Cricket Stadium on Monday.
For India, Meghana scored the highest 69 runs while Shafali Verma slammed 46 and Richa Ghosh played an unbeaten knock of 33 runs. India made four changes to the playing XI, resting some major players like Smriti Mandhana, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Singh.
Put to bat first, India got off to a flying start as the openers Sabbhineni Meghana and Shafali Verma slammed Malaysian bowlers all-around the ground and gathered 36 runs in five overs without losing a wicket.
The duo continued carnage on Malaysian bowlers and hammered Ainna Hamizah Hashim for 11 runs in the last over of the powerplay. Meghana, brought in for the rested Smriti Mandhana, slammed a stunning four and brought up her half-century in 37 balls.
In the 12th over of the innings, Shafali Verma also opened her hands and slammed a stunning six on the delivery of Winifred Duraisingam. The explosive Indian duo took their team’s total beyond the 100-run mark in the 13th over of the innings.
Winifred Duraisingam gave her team a much-needed breakthrough as she dismissed well-set batter Meghana. The opener departed after playing a fine inning of 69 in just 53 balls with 11 fours and a six against Malaysia in Asia Cup.
Meghana’s wicket invited right-handed batter Richa Ghosh to the crease. In the 16th over of the innings, Ghosh finally shifted gears and hammered Sasha Azmi for 12 runs with teh help of one four and six.
Ghosh played aggressively and slammed Malaysian bowlers all-around the ground and bagged 18 runs from Nur Arianna Natsya’s over. Nur Dania Syuhada gave India a big blow as she dismissed Shafali for 46 runs off 39 deliveries.
Kiran Navgire then came to the crease but could stand longer as she was departed by Nur Dania Syuhada for zero. Radha Yadav then came to bat and slammed back-to-back two four in the same over of Dania Syuhada.
However, Radha could not continue the carnage on the Malaysian bowlers as she was sent back to the pavilion by Duraisingam after scoring 8 runs in four balls. Dayalan Hemalatha then came to the crease and slammed a six and a four in the final over of the innings to help India post a challenging target of 181/4 in 20 overs.
Brief score: India 181/4 (Sabbhineni Meghana 69, Shafali Verma 46; Nur Dania Syuhada 2-9) vs Malaysia. (ANI)
