Yastika Bhatia’s 3rd ODI fifties put India to a par score of 229/7 in 50 overs against Bangladesh in their must-win Womon’s World Cup 2022 match on Tuesday 22nd March. It was the second fifties in a row for the left-hander. who again fought for India in 3rd place at the Showpiece event.
India, who have won just 2 of their first 5 games, need no less than a win to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. Fortunately, the rain gods have stayed away so far, even if the forecast for Tuesday was difficult.
India got off to a terrific start as they retained their opening pairing of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma from the previous game. Smriti took her time, anchoring the innings and hitting 31 balls from 50 while Shafali was the aggressor in the first 10 overs.
The young opener, under immense pressure from a string of low scores, looked sharp, hitting 42 on as many balls. Shafali hit a six and a six as India sewed an opening run of 74 runs before Nahida Akhter took the wicket from Smriti in the 15th over.
After you decide to hit first, #TeamIndia posted a competitive 229-7. @YastikaBhatia Top grade with 50.
Stay tuned because our bowlers will be in action after a break.
Details https://t.co/ZOTtBWYhWG#CWC22 | #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/EUQkKmBMuo
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) March 22, 2022
Shafali fell soon after with the medium paced Ritu Moni taking the big wicket. The Bangladeshi bowler had a hat-trick when she got captain Mithali Raj’s prized scalp right on the next delivery.
YASTIKA STRENGTHENS INDIA
India slipped from 74/0 to 74/3 in a span of 5 deliveries, but Yastika maintained the key partnership with the middle tier.
Yaatika and vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur tried to stabilize the ship, but the latter disembarked on the 14th, sadly sailing.
Yastika and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh sewed a score of over 50 but India lost both set batters before the 44th over.
The onus on giving India a good finish fell on all-rounders Sneh Rana and Pooja Vatrakar. The in-form duo did well, hitting 27-ball 23 and 33-ball 30 respectively to push India’s total past 220.
Speaking after her fifty years, Yastika said she felt the pitch was on the slower side and that India had enough posts to defend.
“It feels good to contribute. I’m happy to contribute whenever the team needs it. I like to anchor. Pitch is slow, hard to power behind the ball. Tricky wicket, still good to Hit if you apply. I think we have enough on the board,” she added.
SHORT RESULTS
India 229/7 in 50 overs (Yastika 50, Shafali 42, Pooja 33; Moni 3/37) vs Bangladesh.
