India won by 82 runs against Nepal in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 tournament which was held at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri, Dambulla on Tuesday as Shafali Verma slammed a massive 48-ball 81 runs career-best performance to propel the defending champions.
The win here took India into the semis. Shafali Verma and Dayalan Hemalatha were try out as openers in this match and their partnership got off to a good start. The two accumulated 122 runs within the first 14 overs, thereby giving a good platform for India’s innings.
Hemalatha contributed with an important knock of 47 runs after opting to bat first on winning the toss. The assertive approach of that partnership helped India to produce a good total of 178/3. Jemimah Rodrigues added an unbeaten 28 off just fifteen balls and three fours in the last over increased her score.
Nepal struggled under Indian bowlers’ bowling skills, which resulted in their achieving only ninety-six for nine in twenty full overs chasing a tough target. In order to overcome Pakistan’s net run rate and reach semi-final Nepal had to achieve this within ten overs but they did not manage it.
Deepti Sharma picked up three wickets for thirteen runs while Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy took two wickets each thereby ensuring a tight bowling performance that curtailed Nepal from scoring heavily or quickly enough.
Wicket kept falling at regular intervals during Nepal’s innings as top order players were unable to cope with India’s seam and spin attack. Arundhati Reddy dismissed opening batsmen early whereas Deepti Sharma’s overall display including running out bats person exposed India’s superiority over Nepalese cricket team on fielding.
Shafali Verma put pressure on Nepalese bowlers throughout her innings with a variety of strokes. She took on Kabita Joshi who bowled medium pace and Sabnam Rai the offspinner in particular, smashing twelve boundaries and a six. Both boundaries and a six were contribute by Hemalatha, albeit she had to wait for long before getting into her stride.
There were also moments of resilience from Nepal, including one where India could have broken the opening partnership earlier. But it was India’s batting prowess that was too much for Nepal as their disciplined bowling attack confirmed their place in the semis as they tied on points with Pakistan from Group A.
