Sylhet (Bangladesh): A dominant India grabbed an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match women's T20I series as they pummelled Bangladesh by seven wickets in the third match here on Thursday. After their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur opted to field first looking at the cloud cover and a mild breeze, India's bowlers dished out another disciplined performance to restrict Bangladesh to 117/8, which the visitors overhauled with nine balls to spare. When they came to bat, openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma put on 91 runs in just 12.1 overs to take India closer to a series win.
Shafali got out after a 38-ball 51, hitting eight fours, while Mandhana found form as she struck 47 off 42 balls with the help of five boundaries and a six. Ritu Moni took a blinder off her bowling to dismiss Shafali while Nahida Akter accounted for Mandhana. But the damage was done.
Earlier, the decision to bowl first did not yield the desired result immediately, as Bangladesh raced to 44 for no loss in the six powerplay overs. However, the Indian bowlers tightened the screws on the home team batters after the dismissal of Dilara Akter, who blazed away to 39 off 25 balls. The hosts' brisk start was largely due to the batting of Dilara Akter who struck a few boundaries and negotiated the Indian bowlers without much difficulty early on at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Trailing 0-2 in the five-match series, Bangladesh looked determined to give a better account of themselves and keep the rubber alive, two days after being shot out for 119 at the same venue. With the T20 World Cup around the corner, the objective is to finalise their middle order, which has been having some difficulty.
Even as Dilara kept the scoreboard moving at a fair clip, Bangladesh lost their first wicket when Murshida Khatun (9) was run out by the Deepti Sharma-Richa Ghosh combo. The star performer of the series opener, medium pacer Renuka Singh dealt a big blow on Bangladesh when her slower delivery on the leg side made contact with Dilara's gloves on its way to Ghosh, even as the batter looked to hit it hard over the square leg region. The soft dismissal hurt the home team as the India bowlers looked to settle into a nice rhythm.
At the end of the 10th over, Bangladesh were 66 for two, with their captain Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary in the middle. A poor example of running between the wickets led to the dismissal of Sobhana (15 off 20 balls), the diving batter failing to beat Renuka's throw at the striker's end.
Fahima Khatun was out the first ball, given lbw off Shreyanka Patil after the new batter shuffled across to sweep the ball but missed the line completely.
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