India beat Pakistan to reach Women's Asia Cup final
The Indian women's team beat Pakistan by 7 wickets to reach the finals of the ongoing Asia Cup. Riding on Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur's knocks, the side chased down Pakistan's paltry score of 72, with almost four overs to spare.
Played at the Kinara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the game between the top-two teams who had six points apiece before the clash, was a virtual semi-final.
The Indian team has won six titles on the trot, and will now aim to add one more to the tally, with the finals to be played on June 10.
In the first innings, Ekta Bisht was the most successful bowler for India, snaring three Pakistan wickets, but the damage was done by the Shikha Pandey and Anuja Patil duo, who put the brakes in the early stages. Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma bowled stifling spells in the middle to arrest the flow of runs further.
In reply, India got off to a poor start, with veteran Mithali Raj succumbing to a six-ball duck, and Deepti Sharma following her soon to leave the side tottering at 5-2. Mandhana and Kaur then did the repair work, and took the team past the finishing line. Kaur finished with 34, while Mandhana got out just before India reached the target, top-scoring with a 40-ball 38.
Reigning champions India have won all the previous six editions of the Asia Cup, from 2004 until 2016. Just like the 2012 and 2016 editions, this year's Asia Cup is also being played in the T20 format.