India captain Harmanpreet Kaur lauded her bowlers and the fielding unit after India maintained their dominance in the Women’s Asia Cup with an eight-wicket demolition of a self-destructing Sri Lanka in the final here on Saturday. This is the seventh title for India in eight editions.

Sri Lanka, who were playing their first tournament final in 14 years, imploded after opting to bat on a slow and turning pitch. They could only manage 65 for nine which India knocked off in 8.3 overs. Smriti Mandhana struck a sublime 51 not out off 25 balls.

The Indians bowled with discipline, but poor shot selection contributed more to Sri Lanka’s steep slide. After a memorable win over Pakistan in the semifinals, it seemed the occasion got the better of Sri Lanka. The elegant Smriti Mandhana played some exquisite strokes and scored 51 not out off 25 balls, sealing the win for India.

“We should credit our bowlers. Our fielding unit was good from ball one and we discussed that we should not give away easy runs. You have to read the wicket and accordingly place the fielders in right positions,” Harmanpreet said at the presentation ceremony.

The win is a shot in the arm for India’s preparations for the T20 World Cup next year. They were able to test players for different roles during the competition, though that also contributed to their only loss in the tournament, against Pakistan in the league stage.

3⃣ Overs
1⃣ Maiden
5⃣ Runs
3⃣ Wickets

Renuka Thakur put on a stunning show with the ball & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia beat Sri Lanka in the #AsiaCup2022 Final. 👏 👏 #INDvSL

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/r5q0NTVLQC pic.twitter.com/APPBolypjE

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 15, 2022

Player of the Match Renuka Singh said, “Very happy because the last few games I didn’t bowl well. I practiced with my coach and the staff and they really helped me get back my rhythm.”

“Just focussed on my basics and got success. My whole team supported me really well and credit should go to my captain, coach and the staff,” Renuka said.

All-rounder Deepti Sharma, who gave away just seven runs in her four overs, was declared the Player of the Series.

“Really happy with the way we performed as unit from the first game till today. We executed what was discussed in the meeting. I just back my strengths and those things helped me a lot in this tournament.

“The wickets were slow and before this tournament, I worked a lot on my batting and those sessions really helped me. This win gives us a lot of confidence going into the upcoming series as well,” Deepti said.

1⃣3⃣ Wickets
9⃣4⃣ Runs

For her brilliant all-round performance, @Deepti_Sharma06 wins the Player of the Tournament award. 🙌 🙌#TeamIndia | #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/cyPBUWuaRK

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 15, 2022

After an outing in which her team just didn’t turn up, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu expressed her disappointment, though she was happy with the bowlers.

“Tough day as a team, not a good batting display in the finals and I’m really upset today. Next we have T20 World Cup and we learned a lot of things in this tournament and as a batting unit, we have to stick with our plans. I’m really happy with my bowling unit.

“We have a couple of young players and hope they continue their performances as a batting unit. We do not have a lot of experienced players, but they are good players and think they will play a lot of cricket in the future,” Chamari said.

The Indians bowled with discipline, but poor shot selection contributed more to Sri Lanka’s steep slide. After a memorable win over Pakistan in the semifinals, it seemed the occasion got the better of Sri Lanka.

The Indians took a lap of the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and, in a fine gesture, got clicked with the entire ground staff after their triumph, which was witnessed by a sizeable turnout.