Poonam Raut and Thirush Kamini scored contrasting half-centuries in a 130-run opening stand as India thrashed Bangladesh by 49 runs in the first Twenty20 cricket international to a take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in Vadodara on Tuesday.
Asked to bat, India responded well by scoring a challenging 143 for three as Poonam (75) and Thirush (56) almost batted through the innings.
The stand was broken in the 18th over when Bangladesh skipper Salma Khatun castled Kamini. Kahtun, who bowls off-spin, took all three wickets that fell in Indian innings.
In response, Bangladesh could manage to score only 94 for seven, built around Salma's unbeaten knock of 49. None of the other Bangladesh batswoman could make an impact as India easily defended the total.
Six of the seven bowlers, employed by Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, contributed by taking a wicket each.
Apart from Salma, only opener Shahanaz Parvin (13) could reach a double-digit mark. Poonam and Thirush dominated visitors, scoring at a decent pace till the time they were at the crease.
Poonam's 75 came off 56 balls with 10 shots to the fence while Thirush took 72 balls for her 56-run knock which contained seven boundaries.
Poonam and sipper Harmanpreet (3) were dismissed by Salma in the last over of the Indian innings. The second T20 will be played on Thursday.
Brief Scores:
India: 143 for 3 in 20 overs. (P Raut 75, T Kamini 56; S Kahtun 3/12).
Bangladesh: 94 for seven in 20 overs. (S Khatun 49 not out; Archana Das 1/15).
Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images
