Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024: Shafali Verma Hits 81 As India Beat Nepal By 82 Runs To Qualify For Semifinals

Dambulla: Explosive opener Shafali Verma slammed a profession-best forty eight-ball eighty one as defending champions India thrashed minnows Nepal merely by eighty two runs in their final team swimsuit to substantiate their semifinal spot at the Women’s Asia Cup T20 2024 on Tuesday. With India shuffling the batting order, Shafali and Dayalan Hemalatha (Forty seven) opened the innings and gave India a flying initiate after stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat.

The opening duo smashed its methodology to 122 in 14 overs to lay the muse. Jemimah Rodrigues then hit unbeaten 28 off 15 balls, along part three fours the complete way merely by the final over, to take India to a solid 178 for 3. Nepal wished to achieve the target in or below 10 overs to surpass Pakistan on net run rate and qualify for the semifinals regardless of they'll handiest manipulate ninety six for nine in their 20 overs, therefore of some big bowling from the in-sequence Indian attack.

Deepti Sharma (Three/13) grew to change right into a few the most a hit bowler for India as she snapped three wickets, even as her spin colleague Radha Yadav (2/12) and seamer Arundhati Reddy (2/18), playing in location of a rested Pooja Vastrakar, snapped two every.
Pakistan, therefore, grew to be the 2nd team to qualify for the semifinals from team A. It proved to be a rough chase for Nepal as they kept losing wickets at prevalent intervals to slip to fifty two for 4 in 10.2 overs with seamer Arundhati detoxing up each the openers — Samjhana Khadka (7) and Sita Rana Magar (18).

Renuka Singh (1/15) then brushed off Kabita Kunwar (6), even as Radha eradicated Indu Barma (14). Deepti then got into the act, placing off Rubina Chhetry (15) and Kabita Joshi (zero) after which eradicated Puja Mahato (2) with a direct throw.
Dolly Bhatta (5) grew to be the 2nd sufferer of Radha, even as a caught and bowl effort helped Deepti disregard Kajal Shrestha (Three) to assert her third wicket. Before, Shafali literally toyed with the bowlers, making use of her flicks to good use as 12 fours and a most flew from her blade.

Hemalatha struggled slightly regardless of chugged along same to her skilled affiliate because the Nepalese bowlers toiled in useless. The openers racked up 50 the complete way merely by the powerplay and endured to make the bowlers pay. Shafali grew to change into fairly harsh on medium pacer Kabita Joshi (1/36), smashing her for 5 boundaries, even as off-spinner Sabnam Rai (zero/forty one) too grew to change into despatched the complete way merely by the line a pair of times.

The speeding opener smacked spinner Rubina Chhetry (zero/14) over deep mid-wicket for her first six the complete way merely by the seventh over before making a replacement on up yet an extra 4 with a slog-sweep. She performed her fifty in 26 balls the complete way merely by the eighth over. Hemalatha, who grew to change into discovering it rough to get the midsection of the bat, then clobbered Joshi for a straight six as India reached ninety one for no loss at the midway stage.

Nepal had an risk to spoil the stand the complete way merely by the twelfth over merely by left-arm spinner Sita Rana Magar (2/25) regardless of seamer Indu Barma (zero/29) spilled a directions trap off Hemalatha at the boundary line. The batter, regardless of, grew to change into caught merely by Rubina after slightly of a juggle off the same bowler as India misplaced their first wicket with the team at 122 in 14 overs.

Hemalatha struck 5 fours and a six in her 42-ball innings. Shafali endured to punish the bowlers, slamming two extra fours off Barma regardless of Sita Rana in a few the most positive removed the opener with a tossed up birth because the keeper did the relaxation. Joshi then trapped S Sajana (10) regardless of Rodrigues swelled the innings with slightly of cameo.