Sylhet: India spinners left Bangladesh batters baffled with their spin magic and restricted the hosts to 119 in the second T20I at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Bangladesh's decision to bat after winning the toss on an ideal batting surface didn't yield the expected result. Dilara Akter provided the ideal start as she slammed two fours in the first over.
Off-spinner Deepti Sharma was handed the ball to bowl the second over and repaid the trust that was entrusted to her by the skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur.
On the fifth delivery, Akter attempted a slog sweep and failed to get any elevation or power behind her shot. The ball landed safely in the hands of Renuka Singh at deep backward square leg.
In the next over, Murshida Khatun mistimed her shot, but Harmanpreet spilled the chance, giving an unexpected lifeline to the Bangladesh opener.
She punished the Indian team on the next ball; she effortlessly found the fence towards the back point.
Sobhana Mostary settled the nerves by picking a couple of boundaries in the next couple of overs. Bangladesh looked destined to end the powerplay on a high note, but Shreyanka Patil rose to the occasion and provided the much needed breakthrough.
The young off-spinner cut short Mostary's (19) promising knock by trapping her in front of the stumps.
As the ball got older, spinners put India in the driver's seat. In the 10th over, Radha Yadav completely swung the momentum in favour of India. On the third ball of the over, Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana (6), who scored fifty in the first match, got LBW while trying to play sweep.
On the next ball, Radha weaved her spin magic again, with Fahima Khatun getting trapped in front of the wicket and departing for a golden duck.
Shreyanka bagged her second wicket of the game in the next over as Sultana Khatun (4) miscued her shot and Shafali Verma completed an easy catch.
Rain interrupted the game for some time, but the play resumed with no loss of overs. Murshida and Ritu Moni forged a 32-run stand to help Bangladesh reach a competitive total.
Deepti took her second wicket of the game by removing Moni (20) in the 16th over. Pooja Vastrakar bowled an economical over and conceded just two runs in the 17th over.
Radha went on to complete her three-wicket haul by claiming back-to-back wickets in two consecutive deliveries.
In the final over, Murshida fell on a free hit before completing her half-century after Shreyanka's precise throw got the Bangladesh batter to run out on a score of 46.
Vastrakar castled Fariha Trisna and ended Bangladesh's innings with a score of 119.
Brief Score: Bangladesh 119 (Murshida Khatun 46; Radha Yadav 3-19; Shreyanka Patil 2-24) vs India. (ANI)
