The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou is scheduled to commence on September 23. But a few team events including women's cricket got underway on September 19 (Tuesday) with Indonesia locking horns with Mongolia and Malaysia facing Hong Kong on the opening day. The first game of the event turned out to be completely one-sided as Indonesia won by a whopping margin of 172 runs.
They posted a massive total of 187 runs on the board for the loss of four wickets in their 20 overs. Ni Luh Dewi was the top-scorer smashing 62 runs off 48 deliveries with 10 fours to her name. Mongolia's bowlers struggled a lot giving away 49 extras (38 wides and 10 no-balls). NPAN Sakarini was the other batter who opened the innings with Dewi and she also scored 35 runs during her stay in the middle.
In response, Mongolia Women were no match to Indonesia getting bowled out for just 15 runs in 10 overs. No batter could cross the five-run mark while as many as six batters registered ducks. Among them Bat Amgalan Bulganchimeg bagged a massive 16-ball duck. Andriani was the best bowler for Indonesia picking up four wickets for just 8 runs in three overs.
Malaysia defend 104 runs against Hong Kong
The second match of the day saw Malaysia and Hong Kong being involved in a fairly close encounter. Batting first, Malaysia scored 104 runs for the loss of nine wickets after 20 overs. Only three batters - Winifred Duraisingam, Wan Julia and Mahirah Izzati Ismail - crossed the 20-run mark and none of them crossed 29. The rest of the batters couldn't even cross the four-run mark as run-scoring seemed to be extremely tough.
In response, Hong Kong tried hard but couldn't reach the target of 105 runs. They were bundled out for just 82 runs in their 20 overs with five of their batters being dismissed via run-out.
The quarter-finals of the Asian Games Women's cricket event are scheduled to be played from September 21 with India playing their first match on the day. The final of the event is scheduled on September 25.
