21:00 That’s it! An early finish in Dubai thanks to the brilliance of Sri Charani and the rest of her bowling group. Think also of Fatima Sana’s lone hand with the ball. They will want to beat Hong Kong and reach the semi-finals, which India have already qualified for. We will come back and compete in the Asian Cup again. In the meantime, farewell from me, Raghav and Alagappan!
It’s time for the post-match presentation.
Finally, captain Harmanpreet Kaur has a microphone. “Very important win for us, we are happy with the way the whole team performed today, we talk about ruthlessness. All the bowlers were outstanding. Sticking to your plans, playing according to your plans, reading the field is the key. continuing the good work.”
Next up was Man of the Match, 22-year-old Shri Charani for her 3 for 7. “It’s a great feeling to contribute to your team. I just wanted to use my strengths and in accordance with my field. I just wanted to give the ball more spin and that helped me. I think it’s ok every day [on being one short of 50 wickets]. It will be something special, but I want to continue to do more for my country. I want to continue my good work.”
Fatima Sana speaks first. “I think we had problems as a batting side. We know it was a new wicket, we wanted to bowl a maximum total, we know we had a good bowling team. If we lose, it doesn’t matter. [on her three-for]. We will definitely try to play good cricket. [in the next game]”
20:45 India topped the points table by winning their third straight game in the group stage of the Asian Cup. Fatima Sana’s three threatened to flip the script in the powerplay but it was not enough in the end, especially given the depth of India’s batting. Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma stopped the mini-hill with bat in hand and as a result, India benefited from a masterclass from their spinners in the first innings to seal the two points.