In India women side’s warm-up routine before the match, Team Red, led by Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy, convincingly beat Team Blue in a game of touch rugby. However, the team in blue were the one smiling at the end of the opening match of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 between India and Bangladesh women at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore yesterday.
Harmanpreet and Krishnamurthy certainly starred for India in their 72-run demolition of Bangladesh, but their other teammates in red, Mithali Raj and Vanitha VR, did their share of work too.
First, Vanitha and Raj shared an opening stand of 62 in just 7.4 overs that set the tone for the game, before Harmanpreet and Krishnamurthy added the finishing touches to the innings as India motored to 163 for 5, their highest-ever score in a T20 international. The bowlers then combined to restrict Bangladesh to 91 for 5. Bangladesh’s innings never really took off. Although they managed to tackle the pace of Jhulan Goswami, the batters were undone by the Indian spinners, with Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav picking up two wickets each.
Brief Score
India Women 163/5 in 20 overs (Raj 42, Harmanpreet 40) Bangladesh Women 91 for 5 in 20 overs (Sultana 27*, Patil 2-16, Poonam 2-17)
India won by 72 runs