India win Women’s Asia Cup

India, led by Asha Rawat’s 114-ball 97 which included 12 fours and a six, thrashed Sri Lanka by 177 runs in Kurunagela to clinch their fourth successive Women’s Asia Cup. Mithali Raj won the toss and chose to bat, but India had an early blip when Jaya Sharma was dismissed without scoring by Shiromala Weerakkody. But Rawat and Karu Jain added 71 runs for the second wicket to lay the platform for a big score. Jain, however, fell to the left-arm spin of Suwini de Alwis for a sedate 68-ball 28. Her dismissal did not deter Rawat, who went from strength to strength after making her third ODI fifty.

Rawat and Raj put the Sri Lankan bowlers to the sword in the middle overs, combining to make 91 for the third wicket off 95 balls. Rawat though, missed out on her maiden ton when she was caught by Chamani Seneviratna off Shashikala Siriwardene. But the run-rate took an upward surge when Raj was joined by Rumeli Dhar, the pair amassing 82 off only 60 balls. Dhar was the more aggressive of the two, needing just 30 balls to scored 50. They finally fell within five balls of each other, but by then they had done their bit. Siriwardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, claimed three more wickets as India searched for quick runs, and finished with 4 for 53.