Harmanpreet Kaur's all-round performance leads India to a 5-wicket victory

India women’s team continued to dominate the points table in the Women’s Asia Cup 2016 T20, as they beat the arch-rivals Pakistan by 5 wickets on Tuesday. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and asked the opposition to bat first. Pakistan openers Ayesha Zafar and Javeria Khan put on 22 runs for the first wicket before Ekta Bisht sent Javeria back to the pavilion.

From there, Pakistan never had the momentum they would have liked to have and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof was the next to go. Bismah was dismissed for 2 runs by Indian off-spinner Anuja Patil.

Nain Abidi remained unbeaten on 37, but only three Pakistan cricketers managed to have a two digit score against their name. Pakistan posted a target of just 98 runs. Bisht was the pick of the bowlers for India, as she managed to pick 3 wickets for just 20 runs from 4 overs. Anuja Patil and Harmanpreet Kaur bagged two wickets each as they finished with bowling figures of 2 for 12 and 2 for 16.

However, the chase wasn’t that easy for the Indians but the experienced Mithali Raj gave the initial momentum for the Indians with a 57-ball 36. After a few quick wickets in the middle-order, the Indian skipper steadied the ship and took India home to a 5-wicket victory with 4 balls remaining. Harmanpreet Kaur was also awarded as the player of the match for her all-round contribution for the team.

With 3 wins from three matches, India is leading the points table. Apart from India and Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the other teams featuring in the tournament. India will take on Sri Lanka on December 1 and Nepal on December 2. The final of the tournament will be held on December 4.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan Women: 97/7 from 20 overs (Nain Abidi 37(41); Ayesha Zafar 28(36); Ekta Bisht 3/20)

India Women: 98/5 from 19.2 overs (Mithali Raj 36(57); Harmanpreet Kaur 26*(22); Nida Dar – 2/11)

Result: India Women won by 5 wickets

Player of the match – Harmanpreet Kaur (India Women)