Richa Ghosh rewrites history books, becomes first Indian wicketkeeper to achieve this huge feat in Women's Asia Cup

Talented India wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh smashed a quickfire fifty in the Women's Asia Cup 2024 match against United Arab Emirates (UAE) played at Dambulla. In the process, she also became the first India wicketkeeper to score a fifty in Women's Asia Cup history.

Ghosh came in to bat when India were wobbling at 106-4 with more than 8 overs remaining in the match. She joined her captain Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease. A partnership was needed at that point and Harmanpreet and Richa provided exactly that for the Women in Blue.

Ghosh showed intent right from the start. She hit 6 fours and a six in her first 14 balls and set the tone for a blazing finish. With Harmanpreet Kaur struggling at the other end, Ghosh timed the balls beautifully and kept finding the boundaries with absolute ease.

On a good pitch, she held her shape while playing her shots and cracked powerful shots. The wicketkeeper-batter showed her full range of shots in the 15th over of the match bowled by Esha Oza, and smashed 4 fours in the over.

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Richa Ghosh becomes the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a fifty in Women's Asia Cup

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Ghosh was sublime through the off side and used the big gaps to find boundaries at regular intervals. After Harmanpreet Kaur was run out in the final over, Ghosh turned it on. The right-hander smashed 5 fours in a row to end India's innings on 201-5. It was the first time that India ever crossed the 200-run mark in women's T20Is.

In the process, she also reached her maiden T20I fifty in style, off just 26 balls. This was the first fifty by an Indian wicketkeeper in Women's Asia Cup history. Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 64 off 29 balls with 12 fours and 1 six.

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur also played an excellent hand with 66 off 47 balls, which included 7 fours and 1 six. Earlier, Shafali Verma continued her blistering form with a fiery 37 off just 18 balls at the top.

UAE batters struggle against top-class Indian bowling

Chasing a huge target to win, UAE batters never get going right from the start. Skipper Esha Oza batted well for her 38 off 36 balls but was unable to keep up with the scoring rate. Kavisha Egodage played a good hand in the end overs to lift UAE to 123-7 in 20 overs. Egodage finished unbeaten on 40 off 32 balls, which included 3 fours and 1 six.

Indian bowlers had a good collective day as all the five bowlers got at least a wicket. Offspinning allrounder Deepti Sharma picked up 2 wickets as India won the match by 78 runs. This was India's second win in a row after they defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets on Friday (July 19). India will now face Nepal in their last match of the group stage on June 23 (Tuesday)