BAN vs IND, 3rd T20I: India eyes unassailable lead against Bangladesh

A dominant India will have its sights set on an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series when it takes on host Bangladesh in the third women’s T20 International here on Thursday.

Having done exceedingly well not just to turn up but trump its opponents on all fronts in the preceding two matches, India will enter the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium aiming to follow the same script.

The bowling unit has been functioning cohesively, having restricted Bangladesh to modest totals with spinners Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, and Shreyanka Patil being economical.

In the pace department, Renuka Singh Thakur has starred with the ball in the opener while Pooja Vastrakar has also been handy.

Dayalan Hemalatha, making her return to international cricket after an absence of nearly 17 months, displayed her explosive batting during the powerplay in the last game, crafting an unbeaten 24-ball 41.

The likes of Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Richa Ghosh have got runs under their belt. However, star opener Smriti Mandhana would hope to find form.

India has relied on a collective team effort throughout this series and it will be seeking more of the same in the remaining games.

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The series assumes more importance as the T20 World Cup is to be held in Bangladesh later this year.

The host, on the other hand, will seek improvement in all three fronts. Its batters have not been able to get big totals, while the bowlers also haven’t enjoyed a good outing and the fielding has also been found wanting.