Women’s Asia Cup: How Richa Ghosh put on an off-side masterclass to power India to their highest total in women’s T20Is

That innings was critical in powering India to 201/5 – the first time they crossed 200 in women’s T20Is – as they made it two comfortable wins out of two to start their Asia Cup campaign. The defending champions won by 78 runs to back up their thumping win against Pakistan on Friday.

For her blistering counter-attacking knock of 64* off 29 balls, @13richaghosh is named the Player of the Match 👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/fnyeHav1sS#WomensAsiaCup2024 | #ACC | #INDvUAE pic.twitter.com/YAOm2a9gDA

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 21, 2024

The highlight of Ghosh’s knock was her off-side strokeplay. From the moment she hit her first four of the knock, off the fourth ball she faced, she kept peppering that side as UAE bowlers offered her the width to free her arms consistently. UAE captain Esha Oza was the first one on the receiving end, as she floated up a full delivery up outside off-stump and Ghosh drove it square past the infield. Her second boundary was pure power, as she muscled a six over extra cover off Kavisha Egodage in the very next over.

Then came the 15th over where she stepped up another gear and Oza was the bowler who she went after again. First ball, a square cut past short-third as she picked up the length quickly to play off the back foot despite the ball being full. Next ball, slightly fuller, and was met with a serene cover drive. Ghosh made it a hat-trick of fours with a rare shot on the leg side as she pulled a short ball past square-leg, but finished the over with a fourth boundary, once more cutting past point.

While India were already on course for what would have been a par score, with Harmanpreet Kaur going steady at one end, Ghosh turned the heat on UAE and they found no answers. Ghosh is known for her power-hitting, but this innings was quickly developing into one filled with elegant shots that were more about timing and placement.

In the last over bowled by left-arm spinner Heena Hotchandani, Ghosh was perhaps guilty of running her captain out at the non-striker’s end as Harmanpreet’s knock of 66 (47 balls) came to an end just as she had found her fifth gear. But Ghosh didn’t let that affect her rhythm as she smashed the remaining five deliveries for fours, taking India to their highest total in this format. She preferred the off-side so much that one of the five fours in the 20th over was a reverse sweep, as she picked up a delivery from almost outside leg stump and sent it flying past point.

2⃣ wins in 2⃣ Matches 🙌

Another clinical performance, another comprehensive victory for #TeamIndia as they beat the United Arab Emirates by 78 runs 👌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/fnyeHav1sS#WomensAsiaCup2024 | #ACC | #INDvUAE

📸 ACC pic.twitter.com/NaKha21O7m

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 21, 2024

In the end, 11 of her 13 boundaries came through the off-side. Indian batters in general preferred the leg-side during the match – what with Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet both heavily preferring that side of the pitch. Out of their total of 201, Indian batters scored 83 runs through the off-side. And Ghosh alone scored 48 of those (57.8%).

Oza eventually led UAE to a creditable total but the run-chase was never really on as India restricted their opponents to 123/7.

“When Jemi and I were batting, we were looking to run hard rather than playing risky shots as we had lost three early wickets,” Harmanpreet – who became the format’s second leading run-getter on Sunday – said after the match. “We were still targeting around 7 or 8 runs an over. When Richa came I told her to keep watching the ball and she batted beautifully. My role was to stay on the pitch and keep rotating the strike. We had a good partnership, especially with Richa and all the credit goes to her for our big total.”

Maiden T20I Fifty for Richa Ghosh! 👌👌

This has been an entertaining knock from the #TeamIndia wicketkeeper-batter 👏👏

Follow The Match ▶️ https://t.co/fnyeHavziq#WomensAsiaCup2024 | #ACC | #INDvUAE | @13richaghosh

📸 ACC pic.twitter.com/xWNDwYg8bB

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 21, 2024

Having not batted in the recent T20I series at home against South Africa after suffering a concussion while keeping in the first match, Richa returned to the XI with a bang. It was a timely reminder of her X-Factor finishing skills in India’s middle-order that they have craved for often in the past.

Brief scores: India 201/5 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet 66, Ghosh 64 not out, Egodage 2/36) bt UAE 123/7 (Egodage 40, Ozra 36, Deepti 2/23) by 78 runs.