The Indian bowlers barely broke a sweat when they bowled out Thailand for a pitiful 37, then scored the required runs in just six overs with nine wickets left over to win the Women’s Asia Cup’s seven-team group league.
India has now won five times in its last six games, with its only loss coming in a close game against Pakistan. India, which has 10 points after six games, is anticipated to be joined in the semifinals by Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and one of Thailand and Bangladesh. Bangladesh still has a game to play, and they just need to win it to surpass Thailand in net run rate (+0.423 after 5 games) (-0.949 in 6 games).
Smriti Mandhana, the stand-in captain, immediately put Thailand into bat after winning the toss. From that point on, the situation became difficult for the inexperienced Thai women.
Replacing skipper Mandhana thanked all the female players for making his 100th T20 international special in a post-game statement.
Mandhana was all praise for her bowling unit: “I wouldn’t say weaker opposition and Thailand played good cricket but our bowlers really didn’t give them any chance.” “A win like this lifts confidence, and we would definitely do well in the semifinal,” said Sneh Rana, the game’s player of the match.