Sylhet [Bangladesh], April 28 : A clinical outing with the ball helped India register a comprehensive 44-run victory over the Bangladesh women's team in the first T20I at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Bangladesh tottered hard to get past the 100-run mark as India thoroughly maintained their position in the driver's seat.
India's dominance was foreshadowed in the powerplay with the pace duo of Renuka Singh Thakur and Pooja Vastrakar combining to strike twice in the powerplay.
After the two dismissals, the writing was on the wall for Bangladesh. Skipper Nigar Sultana waged a lone battle from no end but hardly found any support from her teammates.
With a steady approach, she scored a half-century but her individual efforts were not enough to take her side across the finish line.
On their way to 101/8, Bangladesh were helped by a couple of misfields from the Indian fielders as they conceded some boundaries that were avoidable.
The wickets were shared amongst the Indian bowlers, but Renuka starred with 3/18.
Earlier in the innings, India stumbled early but got off to a flying start after winning the toss and putting Bangladesh to bowl.
Left-arm quick Fariha Trisna castled Smriti Mandhana (9) in the third over. Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia steadied India's dwindling ship with their composure.
Shafali settled the nerves with a towering six off Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana in the fourth over.
Yastika found the boundary rope twice in the seventh over, ensuring that runs kept coming at a healthy rate.
Rabeya Khan was introduced into the attack and got the breakthrough with her spin. A leading-edge brought an end to a 43-run stand as she removed Shafali from the crease for a score of 31.
India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur managed to get a positive start after Yastika's (36) dismissal.
Her short time on the crease with Richa Ghosh hinted towards India breaching the 170-run mark. But Bangladesh were tidy with their lines and restricted India to 145/7.
Brief score: India 145/7 (Yastika Bhatia 36, Shafali Verma 31; Rabeya Khan 3-23) vs Bangladesh 101/8 (Nigar Sultana 51; Renuka Singh 3-18, Pooja Vastrakar 2-25).
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