Final, Sylhet, October 15, 2022, 01:00 PM
Sri Lanka Women
65/9(20.0ov)
India Women
71/2(8.3ov)
India Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 8 wickets
Harmanpreet Kaur has been handed the trophy. She gives the trophy to the youngsters of the team and the full team poses for a picture. Right then! That ends our proceedings of yet another enticing tournament. India Women are truly the deserving champions of Asia. However, Sri Lanka Women should be proud of themselves for reaching the final after 14 years. It was a tough defeat for them, but overall a good tournament. Remember the Women's T20 World Cup is just a few months away and this tournament will give India Women a confidence booster, while Sri Lanka Women will have some sort of thinking to do. That's it from here, folks. Goodbye and take care!
Harmanpreet Kaur the victories captain of India Women credits the bowlers for their bowling efforts, she says that their fielding unit was good as well, and she is really proud of every team member. Mentions that they have to read the wicket before a game and they did so and placed the fielders accordingly. Adds that they were not looking at the scoreboard, they had a target in mind that they had to achieve at the end of a few overs, which worked out well for them.
Chamari Athapaththu the skipper of Sri Lanka Women says that it is a tough defeat to take as a team. Adds that the batting display was not up to the mark. Mentions that they will learn from their mistakes and try to perform well in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Tells that they need to improve as a batting unit but says she is proud of her bowlers. Ends by saying that they do not have that many experienced players but a couple of young players have played well and she hopes that they will continue the same in the future.
Deepti Sharma (94 runs and 13 wickets) is the Player of the Series. She says that she is very happy and they played as a unit in this full tournament. Mentions that she backed her strengths and she focused on where she has to bowl. Adds that before the tournament she worked hard on her batting and it helped her in this series. Ends by saying that this win has given them a lot of confidence going into their next series.
Renuka Singh is the Player of the Match. She says that she is very happy with her performance. Adds that in the last couple of matches she did not bowl well but she trained hard with her coach to get back in rhythm. Mentions that she just tried to stick to her basics and tells that she had support from her captain, coaching staff, and other players.
Stay tuned for the presentation...
Earlier in the match, Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and decided to put runs on the board. However, things did not quite go according to her plan. They put on an abysmal batting show and managed to score only 65. India Women were magnificent with the ball. The spinners used the conditions perfectly and with the help of some poor running by the Lankan batters, they restricted Sri Lanka Women to a below-par total. Renuka Singh was the leader of the pack for India Women, she took 3 wickets, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana claimed two wickets each. In reply, Smriti Mandhana came out all guns blazing and took her side over the line along with Harmanpreet Kaur at the other end.
The batters of India Women came in to bat with aggressive and positive intent. Smriti Mandhana in particular started firing from the word go and gave Sri Lanka no chance whatsoever. Although her opening partner, Shafali Verma tried to be aggressive too, she perished while doing so. Jemimah Rodrigues too followed her back soon. But skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Smriti Mandhana ensured there were no more hiccups and guided India home. We cannot really blame the bowlers of Sri Lanka here as they had too little to fight with. Nevertheless, they still managed to get two wickets and it was Inoka Ranaweera and Kavisha Dilhari who grabbed a wicket apiece.
INDIA WOMEN ARE CHAMPIONS OF ASIA FOR THE SEVENTH TIME! It's been an absolute dominant show from the Women in Blue, not just in the final but in the full competition, barring that one game against, arch-rivals, Pakistan. This chase has been a walk in the park for the Indians. Well, chasing a target of 66 was always going to be a piece of cake for this formidable batting lineup. But we have witnessed a lopsided affair in this final, and it is India Women who go on to lift the gorgeous trophy. Agony for Sri Lanka Women though, they have done a commendable job to reach the final after 14 years but will be disappointed with their performance in this final game.
In over# 9
6
4
1
1wd
Oshadi Ranasinghe 30/0(2.3)
8.3
6
SIX! Smriti Mandhana finishes things off in style! FIFTY for Mandhana as well! Oshadi Ranasinghe tosses this up, full and on off, Smriti Mandhana goes down and slog-sweeps it over the deep mid-wicket fence for a biggie. The India Women players run into the field and they are absolutely delighted. INDIA WOMEN WIN BY 8 WICKETS AND THEY ARE THE WOMEN'S ASIA CUP 2022 CHAMPIONS!
8.2
4
FOUR! SCORES LEVEL! Smriti Mandhana with another fine shot! This is flighted, full and on middle, Smriti Mandhana skips down the track and smashes it wide of mid on for a boundary. India Women just one run away from becoming the champions.
8.1
1
Tossed up, full and on middle, Harmanpreet Kaur tucks it towards square leg for a run.
8.1
1wd
WIDE! Looped up, short and outside off, Harmanpreet Kaur misses her cut. Wided.
In over# 8
0
4
1
0
0
2
Inoka Ranaweera 17/1(3)
7.6
.
Quicker, short and on off, turning in sharply, Smriti Mandhana gets cramped and knocks it back to the bowler.
7.5
4
FOUR! Over the top! This is tossed up, full and on off, Smriti Mandhana skips down the track and lofts it over the mid off fielder for a boundary. 7 runs needed to win now.
7.4
1
A low full toss, on middle and leg, Harmanpreet Kaur drives it wide of mid on where the fielder dives to her right to stop it. Only a single.
7.3
.
Looped up, full and on middle, Harmanpreet Kaur lenas on and pushes it back to the bowler.