Indian women crush Pak to enter Asia Cup final

Kuala Lumpur : A dominant India sailed into the final of the women’s Asia Cup T20 tournament with a seven-wicket drubbing of Pakistan in their last round-robin match today. The Indians will take on Bangladesh in the title clash after Bangladesh outclassed hosts Malaysia by 70 runs in their final league tie.
Batting first, Pakistan were restricted to 72/7 in the allotted 20 overs at the Kinrara Academy Oval. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was the most successful Indian bowler, claiming 3/14 in her four-over spell. Bisht was named the Player of the Match.
Chasing the meagre target, India completed the task with as many as 23 balls to spare. Opener Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 38 off 40 balls while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur made 34 off 49 deliveries.
India got off to a disastrous start as they lost Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma with just five runs on the board in the third over, but the low target allowed them the liberty of taking things easy.
The duo of Smriti and Harmanpreet then added 65 runs for the third wicket, a recovery act that powered the team to within striking distance of victory. Even as Mandhana got out with three runs needed for the win, Harmanpreet guided her side home.
Earlier, Pakistan’s decision to bat first did not yield the desired results as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 72. Sana Mir top-scored for the side with 20 but consumed 38 balls. Opener Nahida Khan (18) was the only other Pakistan batswoman to reach double digits.