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TOSS: Sri Lanka won the toss, opt to bat first.
First innings: SL post 65/9, Renuka Singh 3/5 (3 overs)
Second innings: IND 71/2 (8.3 overs)
3.40 pm: That will be all from us for the Asia Cup coverage (do stay tuned for some post-tournament stuff). India, with their quality, started as the favourites and only the conditions in Sylhet made it a bit of a leveller on occasion. But Harmanpreet Kaur and Co deservingly, expectedly, stamp their authority on the competition.
Player of the tournament: Deepti Sharma. For her wickets, runs... and some brilliant run outs.
Player of the match: Renuka Singh Thakur for her 3-for. What a good few weeks it has been for her as well.
It has been a superb few months for Smriti Mandhana with the bat. She has always been one of the best in the game, think she has taken a step closer to the very top this year. Gets a much deserved break now after a busy period.
Read our interview here:
INDIA ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Smriti Mandhana finishes it off in style! A half century with a six. India win by 8 wickets and 11.3 overs to spare.
India 59/2 after 8 overs: Smriti Mandhana, stop it! (Don’t). That is ridiculous. Takes on SL’s best, and sends it over mid-off.
India 52/2 after 7 overs: Smriti Mandhana masterclass on a pitch where every single batter has had very little clue. Some truly jaw-dropping shot-making. First a push through cover that should have been stopped but then a cut past a packed offside field which was timed to perfection. Amazing.
India 42/2 after 6 overs: No pressure on Mandhana it seems, who is batting like a dream. (Missed a sweep there but the turn on offer meant not out LBW). Harmanpreet Kaur is in at No 4, no experimentation today.
WICKET! 4.3: Jemimah Rodrigues 2(4) b Kavisha Dilhari Jemimah, like leading wicket taker Deepti, the leading runscorer doesn’t add much to her tally in the final. Funny game, all that. Just unlucky there as the ball just scooted low as she stepped down. India 35/2
WICKET! 3.4: Shafali Verma 5(8) st Anushka Sanjeewani b Inoka Ranaweera And of course, Inoka strikes in her first over. The over started with another superb six by Mandhana, down the track and over long on. But Shafali can’t repeat the feat, beaten on length. India 32/1
India 25/0 after 3 overs: Not many exponents of the lofted shot over offside than Smriti Mandhana. Magic! Goes for six. Follows that up with a four. Oshadi with an expensive over.
IND 11/0 after 2 overs: Oh, Sri Lanka should have just started with Inoka surely? Sugandika with a 6-run over, as Mandhana gets going with a lovely push through cover after coming down the track.
IND 4/0 after 1 over: Oshadi starts with a testing over, Shafali gets away with a couple of nervy shots.
Innings break: Inoka Ranaweera, who might have produce magic with the ball if SL have any chance here, scores 18 useful runs with the bat. SL will be very disappointed with that effort overall after winning the toss, especially the runout of their captain. A 30-40 from her could have made a whole lot of difference.
Sri Lanka 65/9 after 20 overs: Ho, a finish with a flourish. Two fours down the ground to close things out as Shafali gets another over with Renuka still having one pending.
Sri Lanka 54/9 after 19 overs: Harmanpreet Kaur dives full length to stop the ball, next delivery Shafali lets one through the gates at mid-on. She wasn’t too pleased there! Hands on hips.
Sri Lanka 50/9 after 18 overs: Harmanpreet Kaur hands the ball over to Shafali, there are a couple of wides thrown in there. A few cheers around the ground as 50 comes up.
Sri Lanka 45/9 after 17 overs: Hemalatha with a tidy over.
WICKET! 15.6: Sugandika Kumari 6(24) b Sneh Rana Full and straight from Rana, superb flight too and not much a lower order batter can do. The commentator is on and on about technique. We could actually write more about the commentary than the match here if we had to. Sri Lanka 43/9
Sri Lanka 40/8 after 15 overs: Sugandika and Inoka, who could have used with a few more runs to defend when they come on to bowl, are left to add a few runs to the total.
D Hemalatha comes on, with the ball doing all sorts of things off the pitch for spinners.
WICKET! 11.5: Oshadi Ranasinghe 13(20) b Rajeshwari Gayakwad You can’t really blame the batter here. Two deliveries before this, the ball “bounced” about a centimeter off the pitch. How does a batter deal with that? Tried to give herself momentum and maybe get to the pitch but RG is smart, quickens this up and bowled. Great bowling. Sri Lanka 32/8
Sri Lanka 26/7 after 10 overs: Sri Lanka are 26/7 in 10 overs and the tournament’s leading wicket taker Deepti Sharma finishes her spell of four overs with 0/7. Funny how cricket works sometimes, eh? Big turn in that over, she even tried a couple of arm balls, but nope, not her day.
Deepti Sharma to bowl her fourth over, no wicket still.
WICKET! 8.3: Malsha Shehani 0(5) ct & b Sneh Rana Once again slow turn, ball stops on the batter, and it is checked back to the bowler. Easiest of the catches for Rana. Sri Lanka 25/7
Sri Lanka 19/6 after 6 overs: Really flighted, slow stuff from Deepti and there is plenty of turn on offer. Still, good control to test the batters with that. Not always easy. Just one run.
WICKET! 6.6: Nilakshi De Silva 6(8) b Rajeshwari Gayakwad She bowled an absolute class first over without getting a wicket, gets the wicket with probably the loosest delivery she has bowled today in the 2nd over. Funny game. Short and wide, played on. Sri Lanka 18/6
End of powerplay: Sri Lanka 16/5. How badly they must be wanting a do over here? As a contest, this final is going only one way.
WICKET! 5.2: Kavisha Dilhari 1(6) b Renuka Singh The Indian pacer who had most of the best batters in the world controlled on a string during the English summer, is a real handful here for SL. Lovely drift inside and through the defence of Kavisha. Sri Lanka 16/5
Sri Lanka 16/4 after 5 overs: Rajeshwari Gayakwad actually bowls a wonderful over, that includes an edgy four and goes for six runs. Not quite sure how that over went wicketless. Terrific control from the spinner.
Aditya Chaturvedi: What. Is. Happening?! Team hat-trick for India as Renuka Singh picks up her second wicket in three balls.
WICKET! 3.5: Hasini Perera 0(1) ct Smriti Mandhana b Renuka Singh Not quite sure what comes after “goes from bad to worse” but that is what is happening for SL. The ball stops on the pitch and Hasini can only check this to SM18 who takes the easiest of catch at short extra cover. Sri Lanka 9/4
WICKET! 3.4: Anushka Sanjeewani 2(4) Run Out Pooja Vastrakar Going from bad to worse, another massive mix-up. Another run out nicely done by Richa, a sharp throw by Pooja. Sri Lanka 9/3
WICKET! 3.3: Harshitha Madavi 1(5) ct Richa Ghosh b Renuka Singh The umpire took her time but that is goneski. Low bounce, angled across the LHB, clear edge. Sri Lanka 9/2
WICKET! 2.4: Chamari Athapaththu 6(12) Run Out Renuka Singh Over on our office group chat, we were just discussing how this could be a good toss to win and bat first, but only if Chamari helps SL convert a fighting total to a big total. But a massive mix up and she is run out. Sri Lanka 8/1
Sri Lanka 7/0 after 2 overs: Delightfully placed past point for four as Chamari just about avoids a maiden over from Renuka. Good over by the Indian pacer, big appeal for LBW but is never going to get that from the angle she bowls from.
Sri Lanka 3/0 after 1 over: Deepti, as per, starts with a tight over. Nice loop to the left-hander from over the wicket. Such a teasing line that is. A quick, sharp attempt at a run out too in that over.
Deepti Sharma starts things off.
Toss interview: Chamari says she is excited about this match, it’s her first Asia Cup final personally. In 2008 she was not in the squad. Harmanpreet Kaur confirms the team change, D Hemalatha is in for Radha Yadav. Did not give a reason, but would assume that it is because of dealing with the lefties in SL lineup, Radha might not be too useful with her left arm spin. And Hemalatha adds better batting depth.
Sri Lanka XI via ACC: Chamari Athapaththu (C), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kaveesha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Oshadhi Ranasinghe, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasooriya
India XI via ACC: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
12.39 pm: As someone suggested jokingly on social media recently, maybe Harmanpreet should consider walking with Smriti Mandhana for tosses.
TOSS UPDATE: Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
12.30 pm: This is, of course, the second meeting between these two sides in the tournament with India win the opener thanks to Jemimah Rodrigues’ fine knock. (She loves batting against Sri Lanka, doesn’t she?)
Jemimah Rodrigues in T20Is:
Most runs - vs Sri Lanka
Highest score - vs Sri Lanka (76 in this tournament)
Best average - vs Sri Lanka
Best strike rate (more than 1 inns) - vs Sri Lanka
Most fifties - vs Sri Lanka
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022 title clash between India and Sri Lanka in Sylhet.
At the end of an elaborate round-robin phase, followed by two contrasting semifinals, India and Sri Lanka are the last two standing. Harmanpreet Kaur and Chamari Athapaththu will look to lead their side to the title today, at the end of what has been a fascinating rollercoaster of a tournament. While India have been near perfect except for a blip against Pakistan, Sri Lanka have gone through the ups and downs and made it this far by the barest of margins.
But, hey, the final is a fresh day.
Squads:
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Sabbhineni Meghana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Richa Ghosh(w), Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Kiran Navgire, Jemimah Rodrigues, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Sri Lanka: Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Harshitha Madavi, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Malsha Shehani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera, Achini Kulasuriya, Tharika Sewwandi, Madushika Methtananda, Rashmi Silva, Kaushani Nuthyangana
Screenshots / images in blog courtesy: ACC Media gallery / Disney+Hotstar