India’s woes continued in the crucial Women’s T20 World Cup clash against Bangladesh on Thursday, with the team conceding four runs during the Powerplay.Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana won the toss and elected to bat. India, coming into the game after defeat by South Africa, made two changes, bringing Radha Yadav and Renuka Thakur of Prema Yadhav and Arundhati Reddy. Bangladesh retained the same XI that beat Pakistan in their previous match.
With India, South Africa and Bangladesh all tied on four points after three matches, separated by a quick net, the tournament became crucial in the race to the semifinals. Australia, meanwhile, are top of Group 1 with four wins from four matches.The first relief came in the third over when Juairiya Ferdous swept Shree Charani. The ball bounced to short leg and hung in the air long enough for Yastika Bhatia to run out of short leg and into the ground. He grabbed a finger but couldn’t finish the grip.India then missed another chance in the next minute. Juairiya pulled a short ball from Renuka Singh towards deep, where Radha Yadav stood. The chance came at a good distance and Radha got both hands on it, but the ball went out. For Radha’s legendary batsmen, it was a rare miss and came on the back of two catches by Marizanne Kapp in India’s defeat to South Africa.He misses not stopping there. In the fifth over, Sobhana Mostary drove hard by delivering Shree Charani and cutting the ball towards cover. Nandani Sharma moved quickly to his left and dived, got both hands on the ball, but couldn’t finish.One ball later, Nandani was on the road again. Juairiya tried to sweep and the edge flew to third base. Nandani covered the ground quickly and threw himself into the water, but the ball did not stick, bringing Bangladesh another life.The series left India frustrated as four chances fell in the 11th century. The missed chances helped Bangladesh recover from the early pressure and finish the game strong at 40/1 after six hours.The decline in fish numbers continued a worrying trend in India. Against South Africa in their previous match, Radha lost the opportunity provided by Marizanne Kapp, who managed to score an unbeaten 81 and played a major role in the six-wicket victory.