CHENNAI: After the debate over playing their perfect game in the lead up to the summit clash, Shafali Verma (68) and Smriti Mandhana (59) led the way as India crushed Sri Lanka in the final to win the Women's T20 Asia Cup on Sunday.
Chasing 184, Sri Lanka had hopes till the time Chamari Athapaththu was in the middle. Once she fell for 36 from 32 balls, trying to take on Deepti Sharma, Sri Lanka crumbled to be bowled out for 111, falling short by 72 runs.
Coming into the match, India made one big change, leaving out Pratika Rawal for G Kamalini, but it was the opening duo that rose to the occasion. Verma and Mandhana, without a doubt, have been India's best batters in the format over the last few years. And it showed on Sunday as the openers did not waste any time to get going.
Verma played the aggressor in the powerplay, taking India to 57/0 in six overs. Verma raced to her fifty in 24 balls and Mandhana caught up soon. She took on Nilakshika Silva for a six and a four, getting to her 36th fifty. Verma got out shortly after, Mandhana missed a chance to go for a century, thanks to a mix-up as she was run out. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who promoted herself to No 3, was joined by Richa Ghosh and they tried to keep the momentum going. However, Ghosh (17 off 13 balls) fell against the run of play and so did Kaur and Bharti Fulmali. Kamalini, playing her first match of the tournament on comeback, helped India finish strong with an unbeaten 5-ball 15. Brief scores: India 183/5 in 20 ovs (Verma 68, Mandhana 59; Praboda 1/40) bt Sri Lanka 111 in 20 ovs (Athapaththu 36; Sree Charani 4/20, Deepti 3/19).
