Bangladesh secured a morale-boosting consolation victory in the third and final T20I against India, their first win against India since the 2018 Asia Cup final, and only their third overall. Chasing a target of 103 runs, Bangladesh started their innings with Shathi Rani and Shamima Sultana. India introduced spin right from the start, with Deepti Sharma bowling the first over on a spin-friendly surface. Shathi got off to a positive start, hitting a four off the first ball. However, India struck early as Minnu Mani dismissed Shathi for 12 runs.
Nigar Sultana joined Shamima in the middle, and the duo formed a crucial partnership. They played sensibly, rotating the strike and finding the occasional boundary. They took Bangladesh to 59-2 in 11 overs, building a solid foundation for the chase. However, India fought back with quick wickets in the 17th over, removing both Shamima and Nigar Sultana. The game was evenly poised at that point, with Bangladesh needing 34 runs off 36 deliveries.
But the 18th over proved decisive as Rashi Kanojiya conceded 13 runs, including a no-ball that resulted in a boundary on the free hit. Nahida Akter played a crucial role, hitting a game-changing four on the free hit. Bangladesh reached the 100-run mark and ultimately chased down the target with four balls to spare. Ritu Moni hit the winning run, securing the consolation win for Bangladesh.
For India, this match served as a learning curve on spin-dominated tracks. They struggled to build partnerships and lost wickets at crucial junctures, which limited their scoring opportunities. Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues were the top scorers for India with 40 and 22.
Bangladesh’s spinners were exceptional, restricting India to just 102-9 in their 20 overs. Rabeya Khan and Nahida Khatun were the pick of the bowlers, ensuring that India didn’t get away with a big score.
With this win, Bangladesh gained confidence ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series. They proved that they could compete closely with India, particularly on spin-friendly tracks. India, on the other hand, will reflect on their performance and aim to improve their batting and adapt better to different conditions in the future.