Heartbreaking loss for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side.
India suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Bangladesh in the final of the Women's T20 Asia Cup at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday. India posted 112/9 batting first, which Bangaldesh chased down on the last ball of the innings for the loss of seven wickets to lift their maiden title.
The defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for India as they were billed as the favourites going into the contest. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had beaten Bangladesh earlier in the tournament and got the better of arch rivals Pakistan on Saturday to storm into the final.
India posted a below par 112/9 from their quota of 20 overs after being asked to bat. The total was achieved on the back of a well-compiled half-century from captain Kaur. Bangaldesh looked in control for the better part of the chase. Healthy contributions from the entire batting order, with Nigar Sultana top-scoring with 27 from 24, meant they achieved were always in the contest.
Poonam Yadav's four-wicket haul for just nine runs saw India sneaking in with a chance right at the end. Jahanara Alam, though, held her nerve to get two runs off the final ball and take Bangaldesh home.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh skipper Salma Khatun won the toss at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur, and elected to bowl in what seemed like decent conditions to bat. India, though, got off to a poor start with the in-form Smriti Mandhana getting run-out for seven in the fourth over.
It kept going downhill for the Indians from there as wickets fell consistently. Kaur was the lone batter to show some fight as she walked in at four and batted right through till the end. The 29-year-old got out on the final delivery of the innings and finished with 56 from 42 balls with seven fours.
Veteran Mithali Raj (11), Veda Krishnamurthy (11) and Jhulan Goswami (10) were the only others in the Indian team to even get to double digit scores. There was one odd dismissal in the Indian innings, with Anuja Patil get out obstructing the field. The middle-order batswoman was guilty of changing directions while attempting to get back inside the crease.
For Bangladesh, Rumana Ahmed and Khadija Tul Kubra picked two wickets while Jahanara Alam and Khatun got a wicket each.
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 "Bangladeshi players celebrate their win on Sunday")
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