Pooja Vastrakar of Team India. File.
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Pooja Vastrakar bowled a pointy and incisive spell to take the Indian ladies’s cricket team to its maiden Asian Games final, crushing Bangladesh by eight wickets in a lopsided semi-final right here on September 24.
Right arm seamer Vastrakar, who changed Anjali Sarvani within the squad simply earlier than leaving India, had career-best figures of 4/17 in 4 overs as Bangladesh had been bowled out for 51 in 17.5 overs — their lowest ever T20 rating towards the neighbours.
Vastrakar and her younger new-ball accomplice Titas Sadhu (1/10 in Four overs) extracted all of the juice obtainable from the deck as they bowled fast, with the bounce on supply additionally serving to.
Only skipper Nigar Sultana (12) was ready to attain double figures for Bangladesh.
The chase of 52 was a cakewalk because it was achieved in solely 8.2 overs. Kanika Ahuja (1 not out) and Jemimah Rodrigues (20 not out) took India house regardless of shedding skipper Smriti Mandhana (7) and Shafali (17) cheaply.
It was additionally candy revenge for the ladies’s team, who had been pressured to play the second recreation on the trot with out their common skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who’s serving a two-match suspension.
Harmanpreet was suspended due to her offended public outburst and criticism of the standard of Bangladeshi umpiring whereas taking part in towards them in an away collection a couple of months again.
The Indian ladies could not have made a greater assertion than a efficiency as dominant because the one on Sunday.
Vastrakar was proper on the cash, getting a wicket off the very first supply when she pitched one proper at size and it bounced sufficient to power Shathi Rani (0) to edge one to Richa Ghosh behind stumps.
In the identical over, Vastrakar bowled an off-cutter to discover Shamima Sultana plumb in-front whereas Sobhana Mostary’s examine drive ballooned because it hit the highest a part of her willow.
With three wickets in her first three overs, Vastrakar put the ladies’s team within the field seat.
The lanky, effectively constructed Titas, who was one of many stars of the India U19 World Cup triumphs, bowled fast and hurried the batters with additional bounce.
The supply to Sorna Akter was bowled from barely extensive and angled into the block-hole to breach via the batter’s defence.
Titas and Vastrakar bowled 18 dot balls every to choke Bangladesh, and when the three spinners — off-spinner Deepti Sharma (0/Four in 2 overs), left arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/Eight in 3.5 overs) and leg-spinner Devika Vaidya (1/Zero in 1 overs) got here into operation, half the battle was gained.
It solely helped that the ball was gripping off the floor and there was sufficient activate supply to make life depressing for the batters.
A few run-outs solely added insult to the harm.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 51 in 17.5 overs (Pooja Vastrakar 4/17) misplaced to India 52/2 on 8.2 overs (Shafali Verma 17, Jemimah Rodrigues 20 not out).
