Kuala Lumpur,

As many as six Malaysian batswomen fell for a duck as India bundled them out for just 27 to register a resounding 142-run victory in their opening women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup match here today. Electing to bat, India scored 169/3 in their allotted 20 overs, riding on senior player Mithali Raj’s unbeaten 97 off 69 balls, and then shot out the home side in just 13.4 overs in a completely lop-sided match. Pooja Vastrakar grabbed three wickets for just six runs with her medium pace while the spin duo of Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav, who did not concede any run, took two wickets apiece as the Indian bowlers ran through the clueless Malaysians. Only five Malaysian batswomen could open their account, but none of them managed to get into double figures. Sasha Azmi top-scored with nine runs from 10 balls. Malaysia lost half of their side within five overs, getting reduced to 12/5. Captain Winifred Duraisingam (5 off 21 balls) and Zumika Azmi (4 off 15 balls) managed to stay on for a while but couldn’t make any substantial contribution. Earlier, India did not have a great and were reduced to 35/2 at the end of the Powerplay overs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then gave the much-needed impetus to the innings with a 23-ball 32. The day, however, belonged to senior player Mithali, who batted through the innings with a strike rate of 140.57, smashing 13 fours and a six in her 69-ball unbeaten knock. Her 86-run stand with Harmanpreet came off just 53 balls.