Richa Ghosh Shines in Women’s Asia Cup with Record-Breaking Performance Against UAE
In an exciting match of the Women’s Asia Cup held in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh set new records with her outstanding batting. Coming to the crease when India was at 106/4, Richa scored an unbeaten 64 runs in just 29 balls, helping India achieve their highest T20I total ever, 201/5.
Richa’s performance included 12 fours and a six, with a strike rate of 220.68, the highest by an Indian player in a 50-run plus score in women’s T20Is. She reached her maiden T20I fifty in just 26 balls, making it the second-fastest fifty in the Women’s Asia Cup history.
Her 64-run knock is the highest by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter in women’s T20Is, surpassing Sulakshana Naik’s 59-run record from 2010. Richa also broke the record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batter in Women’s Asia Cup history, previously held by Pakistan’s Nigar Sultana.
In the match, UAE won the toss and chose to field. Contributions from Shafali Varma (37), Harmanpreet Kaur (66), and Richa Ghosh (64*) led India to a total of 201/5. Kavisha Egodage was the standout bowler for UAE with 2/36.
During the run-chase, UAE struggled against Indian pacers and managed to score only 123/7 in 20 overs. Deepti Sharma was the best bowler for India with 2/23. Richa Ghosh was named ‘Player of the Match’ for her exceptional performance.
India now leads Group A with two wins, while UAE is at the bottom, having lost both their matches.
Doubts Revealed
Richa Ghosh -: Richa Ghosh is a young Indian cricketer who plays as a wicketkeeper and batter for the Indian women’s cricket team.
Women’s Asia Cup -: The Women’s Asia Cup is a cricket tournament where women’s teams from Asia compete against each other.
UAE -: UAE stands for the United Arab Emirates, a country in the Middle East.
Wicketkeeper-batter -: A wicketkeeper-batter is a player who both keeps wickets (catches the ball behind the stumps) and bats for the team.
Unbeaten 64 -: Unbeaten 64 means Richa Ghosh scored 64 runs and was not out when the innings ended.
T20I -: T20I stands for Twenty20 International, a type of cricket match that lasts about three hours with each team playing 20 overs.
Strike rate -: Strike rate in cricket is the average number of runs a batter scores per 100 balls faced.
Player of the Match -: Player of the Match is an award given to the best player in a particular game.
Group A -: Group A is one of the groups in the tournament where teams are divided to play against each other.