Team India got off to a solid start in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup 2022 after registering a comfortable victory over Sri Lanka in their opening game on Saturday.
After being put to bat first at Sylhet Outer Cricket Stadium, India were in a spot of bother, losing both openers Shafali Verma (10) and Smriti Mandhana (6) for just 23 in 4 overs. Before the Islanders could capitalise further, star batter Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur stepped up to stabilise the innings.
Both Jemimah and Harmanpreet accelerated the run flow and kept finding odd boundaries at regular intervals. The pair went on to form a vital stand of 92 runs for the third wicket before the Lankans came back and got rid of Harman for a well-made 33 from 30 balls, including one six and a couple of fours.
Rodrigues also departed soon but did her job to ensure the Women in Blue reached a competitive total. The right-handed batter smashed 76 from just 53 deliveries, with the help of 11 fours and a maximum as India posted 150/6 on the board in their allotted 20 overs.
In response, Sri Lanka never really got their plans right as they were bundled out for 109 in 18.2 overs, losing the contest by 41 runs. Hasini Perera (30 off 32) and opener Harshitha Madavi (26 off 20) did something but couldn’t get decent support from the rest.
For India, Dayalan Hemalatha was their pick of the bowler, taking three wickets while conceding 15 runs in 2.2 overs. Apart from Hemlatha, Deepti Sharma (2/15) and Pooja Vastrakar (2/15) bagged two scalps each.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
A winning start for India in the #WomensAsiaCup2022 🎉#INDvSL | Scorecard: https://t.co/G29ZQNcPBs pic.twitter.com/YgxrrDZQe3
— ICC (@ICC) October 1, 2022
.@JemiRodrigues scored a superb 7⃣6⃣ & bagged the Player of the Match Award as #TeamIndia beat Sri Lanka. 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/AoLf8lTw5X#AsiaCup2022 | #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/mQEZ0u5xW8
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 1, 2022
Highest score for India against Sri Lanka in women’s T20Is:
76 – Jemimah Rodrigues today
67 – Mithali Raj in 2014
63 – Harmanpreet Kaur in 2018
62 – Mithali Raj in 2016#INDvSL #AsiaCup— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) October 1, 2022
What a fantastic innings by Jemimah Rodrigues – 76 in 53 balls with 11 fours and a six. She came in when India lost two early wickets, a brilliant hand by Jemimah. pic.twitter.com/jODPMo1GpT
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 1, 2022
🇮🇳 WE START WITH A WIN! A fantastic show from the #WomenInBlue today 💯
📸 ACC • #INDvSL #WomensAsiaCup #AsiaCup2022 #TeamIndia #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/swwOr9WV48
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) October 1, 2022
Well played Jemimah Rodrigues #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/1hwtClJAeL
— Sudhanshu Ranjan Singh (@memegineers_) October 1, 2022
Jemimah Rodrigues (aged 22 yrs 26 days) becomes the youngest player to score a half century in Women’s T20 Asia Cup.
Previous youngest was Bangladesh’s Fargana Hoque (25 yrs 79 days) against India in 2018.#INDvSL #WomensAsiaCup
— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) October 1, 2022
Well played, Jemimah Rodrigues. She scored highest ever score in Women’s T20 Asia Cup. When she came to bat India were 21/2 and then she scored brilliant 76 runs from 53 balls including 11 Fours and 1 six against Sri Lanka.
— Ishika Pandey (@Ishika_Pandey45) October 1, 2022
Jemimah Rodrigues toying with them as expected. Smart girl. 💫
— Bleed Blue (@CricCrazyVeena) October 1, 2022
Jemimah Rodrigues making sure there is not going be another 18 months phase as she had since the start of 2021. Superb knock.
— Sa. Gomesh | ச. கோமேஷ் (@SaGomesh) October 1, 2022