Indian women continued their winning streak in the Asia Cup by beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Bangkok on Sunday to bag their sixth title in as many editions .
Veteran Mithali Raj, who was removed as T20 captain before the start of the tournament, scored an unbeaten 73 to guide India to 121 for five in 20 overs.
The Indian bowlers then bowled brilliantly to limit Pakistan to 104 for six, completing a comprehensive 17-run win. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht once again stood out with her two wickets, conceding just 22 runs in four overs.
It was the second time that India got the better of Pakistan in the competition, having beaten them by five wickets in the league stage. The Indian women also remained unbeaten in five games en route to the final.
It was also a sweet revenge of sorts for India, who had lost to Pakistan during the World T20 at home in March. And had also been docked six points by the ICC for not playing Pakistan recently.
With the memorable win, India also managed to maintain their enviable record in the continental event, having won all the six editions to have been taken place so far. India had also beaten Pakistan to win the last edition of this tournament held in 2012.
The champion team could not have repeated the feat if it wasn’t for the brilliant efforts by Raj and Bisht.
Raj was instrumental in the team's resounding success, amassing 220 runs in four innings to end as the tournament's highest run scorer by some distance. Second in the list was Pakistan's Javeria Khan, with 128 runs in six innings.
Raj’s 73 not out in the final was her highest score in the tournament and it came in quick time at the top of the order. She ended with a strike rate of 112, smashing seven fours and a six.
With her showing, the 34-year-old displayed she still has a lot to offer in the T20 format after being sacked as captain to make way for Harmanpreet Kaur. The new captain had a quiet tournament by her standards as the all-rounder failed to muster up a 30-plus score in six innings and took just two wickets.
Left-arm spinner Bisht came good for India with the ball, ending as the team's most successful bowler with 10 wickets at an average of 5.20.
Along with Bisht, a wicket each by Anuja Patil, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey and Preeti Bose ensured Pakistan never got close to the target.
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