The India Womens cricket team completed a clean sweep of Bangladesh with a 21-run victory in the fifth and final clash of the five-match WT20I series at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
India won the toss and elected to bat first. Despite losing the wicket of opener Shafali Verma early who was dismissed for 13, the visitors posted an imposing total of 156 runs for the loss of five wickets, thanks to the steadiness of the rest of the top-order batters.
Experienced campaigner Smriti Mandhana stood out with 33 off 25 balls including four boundaries and an over-boundary.
Dayalan Hemalatha contributed 37 off 28 balls with a couple of fours and as many sixes, while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur added 30 off 24 balls with four fours.
Sajeevan Sajana was the only Indian batter who fail to make any impact, departed just after opening her account, whereas wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 28 off 17 balls with three boundaries and a maximum, and Deepti Sharma was batting on five off nine balls.
Nahida Akter and Rabeya Khan took two wickets each for Bangladesh, with Sultana Khatun contributing one.
Chasing 156 runs to win, the hosts suffered an early setback losing their opener Dilara Akter cheaply for four runs. Sobhana Mostary, replacing Murshida Khatun in the opening slot, managed 13 runs. Batting at number 3, Rubya Haider scored 20, while skipper Nigar Sultana Joty and Shorna Akter were dismissed cheaply for seven and one run respectively, putting the side in danger.
Ritu Moni, however, showed resistance, pairing with Shorifa Khatun to form a 57-run sixth-wicket partnership. Ritu, the leading scorer for Bangladesh on the day, departed for 37 off 33 balls with four boundaries, while Shorifa and Rabeya Khan remained unbeaten on 28 and 14 respectively, as Bangladesh managed to post 135 runs for the loss of five wickets, which is their highest total in the series.
Radha Yadav claimed three wickets for India, while Asha Sobhana took two and Titas Sadhu got the rest.
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