India Women have levelled the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh and have also stayed alive. It was perhaps the best performance of the Indian team on the tour with the batter finally clicking. Jemimah Rodrigues was the star for team India both with bat and ball scoring 86 runs off just 78 balls and then picking four wickets for just three runs in short spell.
Surprisingly, the hosts opted to bowl first after winning the toss and got the wicket of Priya Punia early. However, Smriti Mandhana, for the first time on the tourn, managed to spend time in the middle even as Yastika Bhatia got out after mustering only 15 runs. At the other end, Mandhana blunted the spinners and made her way to 36 off 58 balls with four fours to her name before getting castled by Rabeya Khan.
India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur yet again had to drop guard after coming in to bat at 40/2 and played superbly. She got retired hurt while on 48 and eventually got to her half-century later in the innings before getting out on 52 off 88 balls with 3 fours. However, the innings got real impetus when Jemimah Rodrigues came out to bat as she made sure to keep the scoreboard ticking.
After Kaur went off the field due to injury, Rodrigues made sure runs came at a decent rate along with Harleen Deol. She scored a vital 86 off just 78 balls with nine fours while Harleen mustered 25 runs as India posted 228 runs on the board for the loss of eight wickets after 50 overs.
On a slow pitch, Bangladesh needed to start well to chase down the 229-run target. But Bangladesh lost three wickets upfront with only 38 runs on the board. Fargana Hoque and Ritu Moni then stitched 68 runs for the fourth wicket to lend stability to the innings. But once that partnership was broken thanks to Devika Vaidya, all hell broke loose for Bangladesh.
They lost their last seven wickets for just 14 runs with Rodrigues spinning a web along with Vaidya. Jemimah returned with magical figures of 4/3 in 3.1 overs as Bangladesh were bundled out for just 120 runs in 36th over. With the series levelled now, the much-awaited deciding ODI will be played on July 22 (Saturday).
