India eye unassailable lead in third women’s T20I against Bangladesh

A dominant India will have sights set on an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series when they take on a hosts Bangladesh in the third women’s T20 International here on Thursday.

Having done exceedingly well to not just to turn up but trump their opponents on all fronts in the preceding two matches, India will enter the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium with aim to follow the same script.

The bowling unit has been functioning cohesively, having restricted Bangladesh to modest totals with spinners Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, and Shreyanka Patil being economical.

In the pace department, Renuka Singh Thakur has starred with the ball in the opener while Pooja Vastrakar has also been handy.

Dayalan Hemalatha, making her return to international cricket after an absence of nearly 17 months, displayed her explosive batting during the powerplay in the last game, crafting an unbeaten 24-ball 41.

The likes of Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Richa Ghosh have got runs under their belt. However, star opener Smriti Mandhana would hope to find form.

India have relied on a collective team effort throughout this series and they will be seeking more of the same in the remaining games.

The series assumes more importance as the T20 World Cup is to be held in Bangladesh later this year.

The hosts, on the other hand, will seek improvement in all three fronts. Their batters have not been able to get big totals, while the bowlers also haven’t enjoyed good outing and the fielding has also been found wanting.

Squads:

India: Smriti Mandhana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, S Sajana, Shafali Verma, Shreyanka Patil, Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Asha Sobhana, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Saika Ishaque.

Bangladesh: Murshida Khatun, Rubya Haider, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Shorifa Khatun, Nigar Sultana (c&wk), Dilara Akter, Nahida Akter, Sultana Khatun, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Fariha Trisna, Habiba Islam.

Match starts 3:30pm IST.