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T he first T20I between India and Bangladesh was privy to a bizarre incident as the third over of the first innings included only five deliveries. After winning the toss, the Women in Blue decided to bat first and then scored 145 while losing seven wickets. For India, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia and Harmanpreet Kaur chipped in with vital 30s while Rabeya Khan starred with the ball as she picked up three wickets while giving away 23 runs.
Indian women struggled to get going as they lost wickets at regular intervals which held them back from going out and posting a bigger score. A total close to 165-170 seemed possible after the Indian openers got off to a blistering start with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma scoring 17 runs in the first two overs.
Only five balls bowled in third over of BAN W vs IND W 1st T20I
Then Bangladesh drew first blood as Fariha Trisna started the third with three dot balls and a single before cleaning up Mandhana on the fifth ball. Suprisingly, the over was deemed complete after that delivery with no official reason conveyed.
We will bat first and put pressure on them: Harmanpreet Kaur
Talking ahead of the start of the game, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur wanted her team to put pressure on Bangladesh by posting a massive total. Speaking at the toss, Kaur said, "We thought we will bat first and put pressure on them. We don't have many thoughts in mind. Looks like a good wicket. We will see how the wicket is behaving and then look for a score. We are going with three spinners and two medium pacers."