Women's Asia Cup: Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues lead India to third straight win

Jemimah's (75) and Deepti's (64) exploits with the bat saw the Indian women's cricket team register a dominant 104-run victory over minnows UAE. 

Opting to bat first after stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss, India made several changes to their batting order and the playing XI. 

Mandhana is usually a shoo-in to open alongside Shafali Verma, yet neither strode out to bat ahead of the match. Shafali was rested, whereas Mandhana opted to give others vital time in the middle. 

Instead, Sabbhineni Meghana and Richa Ghosh strode out to bat ahead of the first ball being bowled. Unfortunately for India, neither of them got a big inning; Meghana, the player of the match in the previous game against Malaysia, scored a paltry ten off 12 balls. 

However, Ghosh suffered an arguably worse fate – she was out to a golden duck on just the fifth ball of the innings. 

This brought out Deepti, who made the most of her chance to bat up the order for a change. The all-rounder smacked 64 off 49 balls, good innings given both Meghana and Dayalan Hemalatha (2) departed cheaply. 

By the time Deepti was dismissed, India was at 148-4 as she and Jemimah put together a crucial 129-run stand for the fourth wicket. 

After that, it was about scoring quick runs – Deepti was dismissed in the 18th over, and India would have wanted a score above 160 at the very least. 

Useful cameos from Pooja Vastrakar (13 off five balls) and Kiran Navgire (10* off four balls) ensured India finished with 178-5 in their 20 overs. 

That was always going to be a challenge, and it proved impossible for the UAE, who took the safe option of batting through their 20 overs. 

As a result of a run-out and two wickets from Rajeshwari Gayakwad in the second over, they were 5-3 by the end of the over. It's not meant to be a slight on them either; the experience of playing against a top nation like India doesn't happen very often. 

After that, only Hemalatha managed to get another wicket, but the result was never in doubt as UAE ended their 20 overs on 74-4. 

For India, the last two matches were about preparation for their next two games. "We have Pakistan and Bangladesh coming up; match practice before that will always help us," Mandhana said. 

However, it wasn't an easy game, and she admitted that they needed something special to get back into the game. 

"I think they bowled really well in the powerplay. Jemi and Deepti batted well to help us get back in the game," Mandhana added while praising the opposition's batting. 

India is currently top of the points table with six points, having won all their first three matches. They next take on arch-rivals Pakistan on October 7.