India recovered from a middle-order collapse that included a first-ball dismissal of skipper Mithali Raj to beat Bangladesh by 110 runs, the big victory margin on Tuesday pushing them to third on the points table because of a better net run rate. It is +.768 now which means a win against South Africa in their final league match will seal a semi-final berth. Depending on how the other games go, even a narrow defeat on Sunday could take India to the knockout round.
All this looked far from possible when India sank from 74/0 in the 15th over to 108/4 in the 28th. Left-arm spinner Nahida Akter and medium-pacer Ritu Moni had triggered a collapse but Yastika Bhatia (50), Richa Ghosh (26), Sneh Rana (27) and Pooja Vastrakar (30) helped India to reach 229/7.
Openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana had given a solid start. The 18-year-old Verma shook of poor form and went after the bowlers in her trademark style while Mandhana adopted a cautious approach. The partnership was broken in the last ball of the 15th over when Mandhana fell on 30 (51 balls). Next over, Verma was stumped off Moni while attempting an expansive shot. She made a run-a-ball 42 with six fours and one six. That got new batters Raj and Bhatia together. When Raj fell giving a simple catch to Fahima Khatun at cover, off Moni, the Bangladesh team broke into a jig.
Bhatia, who bats at No. 3 in domestic cricket but is without a fixed slot in the World Cup, played a mature innings on way to her second half-century of the competition. After vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who struggled to find the gaps, was run out, Bhatia and Ghosh forged an important 54-run stand. Moni dismissed Bhatia and Akter got Ghosh leaving it to Rana and Vastrakar to rebuild the innings like they did against Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}Bhatia, who bats at No. 3 in domestic cricket but is without a fixed slot in the World Cup, played a mature innings on way to her second half-century of the competition. After vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who struggled to find the gaps, was run out, Bhatia and Ghosh forged an important 54-run stand. Moni dismissed Bhatia and Akter got Ghosh leaving it to Rana and Vastrakar to rebuild the innings like they did against Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}Going for their strokes, they added 48 in 6.1 overs. In the last over, medium-pacer Jahanara Alam dismissed Rana for 27 off 23 balls. Vastrakar remained unbeaten on 30 (33 balls).
On a sluggish wicket, 229/7 was a good score but only if the bowlers stuck to the job. They did, admirably. Jhulan Goswami mixed deliveries well and bowled good line but it was the slower bowlers, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and off-spinner Rana who had Bangladesh in a chokehold. Rana finished with 4/30. “We have quality spinners. Today’s surface did help them too,” said Raj.
Speaking of her batting, Raj said: “The last time I was inconsistent was in 2012.” On India’s innings, she said: “We had a good opening partnership. On a wicket like this, it’s hard for an incoming batter to get runs. The anchoring innings by Yastika was important. The partnership from Sneh and Pooja was crucial to get to 230.” Bhatia said she was pleased with her knock but “would have liked to contribute with a few more runs.”