India A dismantle Bangladesh A to clinch inaugural Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup

India A got their hands on the Women's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup after defeating Bangladesh A in the title bout of the inaugural edition. It turned out to be a walk in the park for the Women in Blue, who got over the line on the back of exceptional bowling performances from Shreyanka Patil and Mannat Kashyap. 

It was India A skipper Shweta Sehrawat, who called it right at the toss and elected to bat first in the summit clash in a bid to apply the scoreboard pressure on their opponents. Despite a steady start to the innings, skipper Shweta Sehrawat never managed to break free, departing after a sluggish 20-ball 13.

Her opening partner, U Chetry, also departed after a steady start as Bangladesh started to pile the pressure on a turning track in Mong Kok. Although the bowlers were quite impressive with their line, they did not receive much support from the fielders, who handed the Indians quite a few reprieves. 

Dinesh Vrinda played the anchor sheet role with her 29-ball 36, upping the scoring rate in the middle overs. However, her departure in the 15th over of the match triggered a mini-collapse as India lost four wickets for just 14 runs. The Indian innings was headed for a tame finish before Kanika Ahuja's late flurry helped the Women in Blue to a respectable total of 127 runs in their 20 overs.

Shreyanka Patil's glorious bowling spell bamboozled the Bangladeshis

Bangladesh's chase was off to a decent start after a seven-run first over in the second innings. However, left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap cleaned up Dilara Akter to draw the first blood for the Indians in the second innings. Shathi Rani also departed in Kashyap's next over as India started to turn the screw on the Bangladeshi batters.

Sobhana Mostary tried to launch a counterattack, but she never got any support from her teammates as the Indian spinners were relentless in the middle overs. A young Shreyanka Patil was the tormentor-in-chief for the Bangladeshis as she returned with exceptional figures of 4/13 in her four overs, taking her tally to nine wickets, the most in the tournament. 

Shreyanka and Mannat's combined bowling effort turned the match into a mere formality as the Bangladeshi batters were all at sea against the spin twins, falling short of the target by 31 runs. India A's triumph could very well be the beginning of the next chapter in women's cricket in the country.