CHENNAI: On an evening where India slumped from 65/1 in six overs to 137/9, Shafali Verma's fifty came as a saving grace as they posted 159/9 before beating Thailand by 94 runs in their first match of the Women's T20 Asia Cup on Sunday.
Coming into the tournament, the focus was on India's batting approach and whether Pratika Rawal would get her debut as India's newest No 3. The Delhi batter, who had barely played any T20s last year, was handed her India cap. Once Smriti Mandhana fell early, she walked in at No 3. The much leaner and fitter looking, technically-strong batter tried to take the game head on, but she saw little success. There was a glimpse of a lofted shot down the ground, but apart from that, Rawal could not accelerate as she fell for 22 runs from 18 balls.
Shafali was the star of the show as she dismantled Thailand's bowling attack all over the Dubai International Stadium for eight fours and three sixes. Her 36-ball 64 was crucial in India getting off to a flying start. However, they soon lost momentum with the batters getting out in regular intervals. Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Bharti Fulmali and the rest could not take the momentum forward. They all struggled to get going and India, briefly, seemed like losing the plot and getting all out for a sub-par score. A late revival from NR Sree Charani and Kranti Gaud took India from 137/9 to 159/9 in the last 16 balls.
That total was always going to be a challenge for Thailand as they were reduced to 51/6 in 12 overs. Deepti was the pick of the bowlers as she started with a double-wicket maiden before finishing with figures of 3/0 in 1.1 overs. Nandni Sharma also took three wickets (3/18) as Thailand were bundled out for 65 in 16.1 overs.
Brief scores: India 159/9 in 20 ovs (Shafali 64, Pratika 22; Suleeporn Laomi 3/26) vs Thailand.