Renuka Singh, Smriti Mandhana star as India thrash Sri Lanka by 8 wickets to clinch Women's Asia Cup title

Fast bowler Renuka Singh wreaked havoc with the ball while Smriti Mandhana starred with the bat as India thrashed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final to cinch the Women's Asia Cup 2022 title at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh on Saturday.

India have now won the Asia Cup a record-extending seven times, a testament to their dominance in the tournament. The Women in Blue entered the summit clash as overwhelming favourites and stood up to their tag to emerge on top. Harmanpreet & Co. produced a stunning bowling performance to restrictSri Lanka toa paltry 65 before chasing down the target without breaking a sweat.

Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to bat first in the all-important clash. However, the decision backfired as Lanka got off to a horrendous start. Athapaththu was dismissed cheaply on just 6 off 12 balls by Renuka before the Indian pacer sent back no.3 Harshitha Madavi on a duck.

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Renuka went on to finish with excellent figures of 3/5 in her three overs as she also accounted for the dismissal of Hasini Perera on a duck. The Sri Lankan batting line-up fell like a pack of cards as the Indian bowlers ran riot. While Renuka was the pick of the bowlers for India with a three-wicket haul, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad picked up two wickets each.

After a brilliant show by the bowlers, the batters made light work of the run-chase as they nailed down the target with ease. India got off to a shaky start as they lost both Shafali Verma (5) and Jemimah Rodrigues (2) in quick succession, however, Smriti Mandhana slammed a brilliant half-century to single-handedly take her team over the line.

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Mandhana looked in splendid touch as she made a mockery of the Sri Lankan bowling attack. The left-hand opener scored an unbeaten 51 off 25 balls laced with six fours and three sixes to ensure a comprehensive victory for the Indian team.

India dominated the proceedings throughout the tournament as they started out with a comfortable victory over eventual finalists Sri Lanka before thrashing Malaysia and UAE in lop-sided encounters. India suffered a minor blip losing against arch-rivals Pakistan but bounced back against Bangladesh to make it to the final.

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In the final, Sri Lanka were a no match to the Women in Blue as their batting line-up squandered against a disciplined Indian bowling attack. India chased down the target of 66 runs with as many as 11.3 overs to spare to reassert their dominance in the Asia Cup.