Indian women’s cricket team continued their dominance in the Asia Cup with seventh title as they outclassed Sri Lanka in the grand finale by eight wickets in Sylhet Saturday.
The only time India didn’t lift the trophy was in 2018 when an inspired Bangladesh side claimed their maiden Asia Cup title after beating the former in a thrilling final.
India had registered a facile 41-run victory in the league phase against Sri Lanka and it was no different in the final as the women in blue thoroughly dominated from start to end.
The decision to bat first backfired horribly for Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu as they were restricted to just 65 for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs.
Player of the match Renuka Singh finished with 3/5 from three overs, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana bagged two wickets each as the Indians never let the Lankans settle down at the crease.
The Lankans lost wickets at regular intervals and only two batters – Oshadi Ranasinghe (13) and Inoka Ranaweera (18 not out) – reached double digit.
In a one-sided final, the Lankans at one stage were tottering at 43/9 but Inoka and Achini Kulasuriya (six not out) at least added 22 runs for the unbroken 10th wicket.
The reply for a strong Indian side was a walk in the park as they reached their destination in only 8.3 overs; Smriti Mandhana top-scoring with a quickfire 25-ball 51, featuring half a dozen fours and three sixes.
With 94 runs and 13 wickets, India’s Deepti Sharma was named player of the tournament.