Six-time winners India Women got off to a rousing start in the Women’s Asia Cup as they thrashed Malaysia by 142 runs in their first game of the tournament.

Opener and veteran bat Mithali Raj set the tone with a blazing 97 off 69 balls. She remained unbeaten and missed out on the century by just three runs. With most of the batting revolving around her, India posted a strong 169/3 in their 20 overs. Captain Harmanpreet Kuar made 32 from 23 balls before getting run-out. The partnership between the two for the fourth wicket was worth 86 runs.

Mithali hit 13 boundaries and one six in her knock. 

The hosts struggled to get going once the chase began and lost wickets at regular intervals. None of the batter could reach double figures and six of them were dismissed for a duck.

Pooja Vastrakar gave a good account of her all-round skills as she picked up three wickets after being promoted to bat at No. 3 where she scored 16. Poonam Yadav took wickets without conceding a run while Anuja Patil also got two. Shikha Pandey picked one wicket for two runs.