Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were at the top of their game in the Women’s Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka as the duo unleashed fury with the bat on Sunday. The openers put on 129 runs for the opening wicket after India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat at the Dubai International Stadium. With this stand, the two experienced batters set the record for the highest partnership in the final of any women’s T20I final, beating the previous best of 120 between Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
This stand of 129 was also the highest stand for any wicket in the Women’s T20I Asia Cup, beating the previous best of 128 between Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma against the UAE in the 2022 edition. The 59-run knock also helped Mandhana become the leading run-getter in women’s T20Is, surpassing Suzie Bates’ haul of 4758 runs.
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Both Shafali and Mandhana were looking set for the three-figure mark, but the duo ended up losing their wickets against the run of play, and Sri Lanka staged a mini comeback. The right-handed Shafali lost her wicket to Chamudi Praboda while Mandhana went back to the hut after a terrible mix-up with Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle.
Shafali departed for 68 while Mandhana went back to the dugout after scoring 59 off 39 balls. The duo’s efforts helped India post a healthy total of 183/5 in the 20 overs against the defending champions. India lost their way in the middle after the dismissals of the openers but Gunalan Kamalini’s cameo of 15 off 5 balls propelled the side past the 180-run mark.
Mandhana and Shafali have scored 677 runs as a pair in the Women’s T20I Asia Cup in 13 innings across editions, with an average of 56.41. The next best aggregate belongs to Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama, who have amassed 323 runs in 10 innings.
Shafali achieves new high
The right-hander Shafali got to her fifty of just 24 balls, registering the fastest half-century in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, beating the previous best of Mandhana, who had achieved the feat of 25 balls against Sri Lanka in the final of the 2022 edition. All the top five fastest fifties in the tournament have been by Indians, and Shafali has three to her name.
The Women’s T20 Asia Cup final between India and Sri Lanka began with the former winning the toss and opting to bat. Pratika Rawal was rested for the important fixture as Gunalan Kamalini made her entry into the playing XI.
At the toss, Harmanpreet said, “I feel it’s a very important game for us, and I think having a score on the board is always positive. That is the reason we decided as a group that we’ll bat first.”
“I think every final is very important, and at the same time, there is a lot of pressure. I think today’s game is about playing good cricket, staying in the moment and giving your best,” she added.
