Women’s Asia Cup T20: Mithali Raj, bowlers guide India to crushing win over Malaysia

Mithali Raj’s unbeaten 97 guided India to a resounding 142-run victory over Malaysia in the opening game of the Women’s Asia Cup T20 at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Mithali Raj’s blistering knock coupled with a disciplined show from the bowlers helped the India women’s cricket team pummel Malaysia by 142 runs in the opening game of the Women’s Asia Cup T20 at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Riding Mithali Raj’s unbeaten 69-ball 97, India crushed Malaysia by 142 runs for their first win in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur. (Twitter)

Led by Mithali’s unbeaten 69-ball 97 and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s 23-ball 32, India posted 169/3. In reply, Pooja Vastrakar, Anuja Patil, and Poonam Yadav dismantled Malaysia’s batting as they were bundled out for just 27 runs in 13.4 overs.

READ | Ambati Rayudu a more valuable player than MS Dhoni in IPL 2018: study

After opting to bat, the six-time champions India got off to a poor start as they lost Smriti Mandhana (8) in the third over. Pooja (16), who was promoted to no. 3, hit three boundaries before losing her wicket to pacer Noor Hayati Zakaria in the seventh over, leaving India at 35/2.

READ | Virat Kohli backs Sunil Chhetri, urges fans to support Indian football team

The experienced duo of Mithali and Harmanpreet stitched an 86-run partnership to take their side to a competitive total. While Harmanpreet hit four boundaries, former skipper Mithali was particularly stupendous, smashing 13 boundaries and a six.

The Indian bowlers then struck at regular intervals to hand their team a massive win. Pooja was the most successful bowler, taking 3/6, while Anuja and Poonam took two wickets each. None of the Malaysia batsmen could cross the double-figure mark while India bowled a total of five maiden overs.

India will now face Thailand on June 4.