New Delhi: India Women humbled Nepal Women by 82 runs to book themselves a semifinal berth at the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 on Tuesday, becoming the first team to have done so in the eight-team competition. Playing at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, the Women in Blue registered their third win on the trot, claiming all their group stage fixtures and are now assured of playing the first semifinal. Along with India, Pakistan too qualified for the semis from Group A and will play the second semifinal.
What the match witnessed was sheer dominance by the Smriti Mandhana-led side as the star batter took up the role of the Indian skipper after regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur was rested for the game. Continuing their stellar performance from the previous two games, the ladies comfortably strolled past Nepal, who never looked into the game while chasing a daunting target set by India.
𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨!#TeamIndia continue their winning run in #WomensAsiaCup2024 👏👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/PeRykFLdTV#ACC | #INDvNEP pic.twitter.com/8Eg77qAJOt
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 23, 2024
Nepal were up for a chase of 179 runs in 20 overs but saw wickets falling in quick succession as the Indian spinners ruled the pitch and caught the opponent batters in their webs. Nepal were already two wickets down in the powerplay itself and struggled throughout their innings, having no answers to the bowling attack of India. They were restricted to a score of 96/9 in 20 overs as opener Sita Rana Magar top-scored with 18 runs followed by a string of low scores from her counterparts.
No Nepal batter could breach the 20-run mark as Deepti Sharma was the pick of the bowlers from India who rattled their batting line-up by taking three wickets while Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy bagged two apiece. Renuka Thakur picked a scalp as well to assure India of a victory and a semifinal seat as well.
Shafali Verma shows batting prowess
Mandhana had won the toss and opted to bat first against Nepal, looking sure of putting up a hefty total against the neighbours. They did manage a reputable total against them, posting 178/3 in 20 overs on the back of a brilliant start from the Indian openers – Shafali Verma and Dayalan Hemalatha. Verma went on to score 81 runs off 48 balls, laced with 12 fours and a six as she registered the second-highest score for India in the ongoing tournament.
For her opening brilliance of 81 off just 48 deliveries, @TheShafaliVerma becomes the Player of the Match 👏👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/PeRykFLdTV#Teamindia | #WomensAsiaCup2024 | #ACC | #INDvNEP pic.twitter.com/vrXz9Mhoar
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 23, 2024
She was well supported by Dayalan Hemalatha who struck 47 runs off 42 balls with five fours and a six. Both contributed 122 runs for the first wicket which did the majority of the work for the Indian side while registering the score. S Sajana scored 10 runs while Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on the scores of 28 and six respectively.
From the Nepal bowling attack, Rana Magar picked two wickets and turned out to be the only silver lining for his side in the game as she was the top-scorer as well during the chase. Kabita Joshi scalped a wicket as well but nothing of it bore any fruit to them. Although the Nepal side was clinically outclassed, they did show some grit while batting as they neared the 100-run mark.
With the win, India Women will now play the first semi-final on July 26 in Dambulla while Pakistan Women will play the second semis clash on the same day at the same venue. India will be playing an afternoon game while Pakistan are set to play the evening clash. Both await their opponents who could most likely be Sri Lanka (vs Pakistan) and Thailand (vs India) as they are the top two sides in Group B.
India Women comprehensively thrashed Nepal Women by 82 runs to storm in to the semifinal of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla on Tuesday. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
