On this day in 2018: Bangladesh win Women’s T20 Asia Cup
Bangladesh scripted history on June 10, 2018, as they defeated the then-six-time champions India to clinch their maiden Women’s Asia Cup title. It was a thrilling affair between the two top sides, but Bangladesh managed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat to win the championship on the final delivery of the summit clash.
The game started with Bangladesh winning the toss and putting India to bat first. Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana started the proceedings for the Women in Blue, but India’s start to the innings was horrendous. The top-order batters struggled to get going at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur and India were in misery when Mandhana was run-out in the fourth over.
Raj and Deepti Sharma struggled to score runs, and Jahanara Alam dismissed the latter in the seventh over as India were left reeling at 26/2 in 6.4 overs. What followed next was a terrible batting collapse as combined efforts from the Bangladesh bowlers led to India managing to score mere 112 runs in 20 overs. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur fought like a lone warrior, scoring 56(42).
It looked like an easy chase for Bangladesh, but the Indian bowlers made them struggle for each and every run that they scored. Shamima Sultana and Ayasha Rahman got their side off to a decent start, but Poonam Yadav’s brilliance with the ball saw Bangladesh losing their momentum in the game. The spinner picked up four wickets in her four-over spell, thereby conceding mere nine runs.
Other bowlers also kept things tight for the opposition to add obstacles to their chase, and kept picking wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur took the responsibility to defend nine runs off the final six deliveries. The batters on the field managed to score six off the first three balls, thereby bringing the equation down to three off the final three deliveries.
Kaur dismissed Sanjida Islam on the fourth delivery, and Rumana Ahmed was run-out on the penultimate delivery, as the game went down the wire. Needing two off the final ball, a brilliant dive by Jahanara Alam to complete the final run helped Bangladesh snatch the victory away from India, and lift their first-ever Asia Cup title.
