Team India maintained their top spot in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup standings after handing hosts Bangladesh a 59-run defeat at the Sylhet Inter??nati??onal Cricket Stadium on Saturday (October 8).

Batting first, the Women in Blue finished with 159/5 thanks to a brilliant half-century from opening batter Shafali Verma and vital contributions from stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana and middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues.

Shafali and Mandhana took India to a flyer, forming a solid 96-run opening stand. While Mandhana scored 47 off 38 balls with the help of six boundaries, Shafali returned in her sublime form, smashing 55 from 44 deliveries, including five fours and a couple of maximums. For Bangladesh, Rumana Ahmed picked up three wickets w?hile conceding 27 in t??hree overs.

In response, Bangladesh’s top order did come up with a good start, but the rest batters failed to carry the momentum, and the hosts were eventually restricted to 100/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Skipper Nigar Sultana (29-ball 36) and openers Fargana Hoque (30) and Murshida Khatun ??(21) were the only players who ?scored in double digits.

Shafali, who impressed one and all with her batting, did a commendable job with the ball as well, taking a 2-wicket haul while giving away only 10 runs from her quota of four overs. Deepti Sharma also bagged two wickets for 13 in 4 overs.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

A clinical bowling performance from #TeamIndia as we beat Bangladesh by 5�?�?runs. 👏👏

Scorecard ➡️ //t.co/YrBDw2RKTJ#INDvBAN | #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/uF7n1eiYFX

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 8, 2022

A dominating performance with the bat by Shafali Verma 🇮🇳!
Her match winning innings with the bat and a 2 wicket haul with the ball gave her a well deserved Player of the Match!@TheShafaliVerma @BCCIWomen #INDvBAN #WomensAsiaCup2022 #AsianCricketCouncil #ACC pic.twitter.com/z8tIailwlA

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) October 8, 2022

4th win from 5 games for India in the Women's Asia Cup 2022, fantastic performance led by Shafali with the bat and ball.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 8, 2022

☑️ Shafali Verma is the youngest to 1000 women's T20I runs (18y 253d)

☑️ Shafali Verma took the shortest time from debut to 1000 women's T20I runs (3y 14d)

☑️ Shafali Verma took the fewest balls to 1000 women's T20I runs (735)#BANvIND #AsiaCup

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) October 8, 2022

Player of the match Shafali Verma.
55 runs
2 wickets#INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/FWQEW5KYcm

— Naveen Sharma 🇮🇳 (@iamnaveenn100) October 8, 2022

//twitter.com/Avi??nashArya09??/status/1578694602969976835

India Women's team won by 59 runs.#BCB | #Cricket | #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/plzUwKfXbC

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) October 8, 2022

Fifty by Shafali Verma in 40 balls – a steady innings by Shafali, she played well today. pic.twitter.com/qOUCarUeqQ

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 8, 2022

//twitter.com/meinrebel??hoon/status/1578706008247275523

Shafali Verma bags the Player of the Match award for her cracking half-century at the top against Bangladesh 👏👏#INDvBAN | #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/GIUBRWvQMc

— Reetesh Kumar Srivastav (*मोदी का परिवार*) (@ReeteshSrivast7) October 8, 2022

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