Asia Cup T20: India women's team race to comfortable victory over Sri Lanka

Bangkok: Mithali Raj hit a half-century while Ekta Bisht (3/8) and Preeti Bose (3/14) shared six wickets between them to steer India to a comfortable 52-run win over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 tournament Bangkok on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2697844” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Indian woman’s team captain Mithali Raj. PTI[/caption] Opting to bat, India posted a modest total of 121 for four in their allotted 20 overs and then managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 69 for nine to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament so far. Opener Mithali gave India a solid platform with a quickfire 59-ball 62 that included six hits to the fence. Smriti Mandhana (21) and Veda Krishnamurthy (21) also chipped in with useful runs, although they failed to accelerate the run-rate. Chasing a modest target, Sri Lanka never looked like in the race as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals with Preeti and Ekta wreaking havoc, running through the islanders’ middle order. Only two Sri Lankan batswomen could reach the double digit mark, with Dilani Manodara top-scoring with 20. Brief scores: India Women: 121 for 4 in 20 overs (Mithali Raj 62, Smriti Mandhana 21, Veda Krishnamurthy 21). Sri Lanka Women: 69 for 9 in 20 overs (Dilani Manodara 20; Ekta Bisht 3/8, Preeti Bose 3/14).