 |
| Hanghzou Asian Game:India gets second gold as Titas blows away Sri Lanka in women’s cricket final |
The Indian women's cricket team, making their debut, defeated Sri Lanka by 19 runs in a low-scoring Asian Games final on September 25 in Hangzhou, thanks entirely to rookie bowler Titas Sadhu.
The Indian women's team battled to 116 for seven on a challenging batting surface, but the total was just about par.
However, Titas, who is only four days away from turning 19, produced a devastating first spell and finished with excellent figures of 4-1-6-3 to significantly contribute to holding Sri Lanka to 97 for eight in 20 overs.
Leg-spinner Devika Vaidya (4-0-15-1) was a capable ally who kept the islanders under control.
The Indian ladies always appeared to be in total control. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (3-0-20-2) and off-spinner Deepti Sharma (4-0-25-1) both had poor starts but improved in the latter stages.
India was predicted to win this gold medal, but the quality of the cricket was quite low, and the type of the pitch didn't help matters.
With her quick bowling and longer deliveries, the lanky Titas took three wickets in her first two overs, including that of the opposition's captain and top batter, Chamari Athapaththu (12).
Since Jhulan Goswami retired from the Indian women's squad, the team has been without a true quick bowler, and Titas appears to be a worthy replacement. However, once she competes against players, her abilities would be demonstrated.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, opened with the off-spinner Sharma after recognising the slowness of the wicket, but the left-handed Athapaththu soon went on the attack with a slog sweep six and a boundary off the very first over.
When Titas, who was just playing her second T20I, got Anushka Sanjeewani (1) to play a lofted drive without reaching the pitch of the delivery, the captain pulled her frontline pacers back from the second over. Harmanpreet made the easy grab at mid-off.
The youngster then angled one in and castled Vishmi Gunaratne (0) before shortening the length for Athapaththu in her subsequent over. Sharma took the batter's slash at the edge of the circle at extra cover after the ball stopped on her.
Sri Lanka was in trouble at 14 for 3 when Hasini Perera (25 off 22 balls) scored some rapid runs to push her team above the 50-run mark. However, Rajeshwari then forced her to sweep ungraciously, reducing Sri Lanka to 50 for 4.
Before Vastrakar dismissed the former and Sharma defeated Oshadi Ranasinghe by taking more risky shots, Nilakshi de Silva (23 off 34 balls) and Oshadi Ranasinghe (19 off 26 balls) scored 38 runs for the fifth wicket.
Earlier, Harmanpreet made the right choice to bat first because the pitch, which wasn't ideal for stroke-play, only grew slower as the game went on.
The Sri Lankan team included far too many slow bowlers, which makes it difficult to press the pace against them on a wicket like this.
Jemimah Rodrigues (42 off 40 balls) and Smriti Mandhana (46 off 45 balls), who both scored four boundaries and a six, shared 73 runs for the second wicket.
Both Mandhana and Rodrigues successfully employed the sweep shot to offset the sluggishness.
Prior to hurting herself while completing a rapid single, Mandhana appeared to be in excellent form. However, after that, her footwork against spinners wasn't as good as it had been at the beginning of her innings.
She had too many slog sweeps, and that was the last of her. Richa Ghosh made a six to begin, but she quickly faded.
Harmanpreet struggled during her brief tenure, which was clear evidence of her lack of match experience. But in the end, the sum was sufficient to guarantee a second gold medal of the competition.
Short scores: India 116/7 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 42, Harmanpreet Kaur 46). In 20 overs, Sri Lanka scored 97/8 (Hasini Perera 25, Titas Sadhu 3/6).
