Spinners help India retain top position

India women 110 for 3 (Krishnamurthy 29, Harmanpreet 24, Nilakshi 1-15) beat Sri Lanka women 107 for 7 (Hasini 46, Bisht 2-20) by seven wickets

A day after they were handed their first loss in the history of Asia Cup, India chased down 108 with ease to stage a seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur. While the bowlers managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 107, an unbeaten 40-run partnership between Veda Krishnamurthy and Anuja Patil sealed the chase for India with seven balls to spare.

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket in the fourth over, following which a 38-run stand between opener Yasoda Mendis and Hasini Perera took them to 50 for 1 in the 11th over. They slumped in the middle overs, with left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht, who had taken the first wicket, triggering a collapse in the 14th by trapping Nilakshi de Silva lbw for 7. Sri Lanka went on to lose Malsha Shehani and captain Shashikala Siriwardene to run-outs in a span of six deliveries as they lost their last five wickets within 25 balls. Hasini led the sole resistance, scoring an unbeaten 43-ball 46, taking the total past 100 in the 19th over.

In reply, India lost Smriti Mandhana for 12 in the Powerplay, and de Silva sent Mithali Raj – who became the first Indian woman to reach 2000 T20I runs – back for 23 to leave the score at 55 for 2 in the 12th over. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur chipped in with a 25-ball 24, but the fourth-wicket stand between Krishnamurthy and Patil ensured a win for India. Krishnamurthy struck four fours in her 23-ball 29 while Patil was named Player of the Match for her all-round effort of 19 runs off 16 balls and bowling figures of 4-0-19-1.