India Through to Semi-Finals: Shri Charani and Shafali’s Star Performances
Nagoya: The Asia Cup-winning Indian women’s cricket team stormed into the semi-finals of the Asian Games Women’s T20 tournament after defeating hosts Japan by eight wickets in the quarter-final at Nishin, with 15 overs to spare.
Could India and Pakistan Meet in the Final?
In Sunday’s semi-finals, Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in the first match, while India will take on Bangladesh. India and Pakistan could potentially meet in the final for the gold medal.
India’s first match in the men’s cricket tournament will be played on September 28. Shreyas Iyer is the captain of the Indian men’s team.
In the quarter-final, defending champions India bowled Japan out for just 57 runs and then chased down the target in only five overs, scoring 59 for the loss of two wickets. Shafali Verma was the star batter, remaining unbeaten on 40 off just 15 balls, including two sixes and six fours.
Smriti Mandhana did not open the innings. G. Kamalini, who opened alongside Shafali, was dismissed for a duck, while Bharati Fulmali was out for just six runs.
Shafali, however, held one end firmly and, together with wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who remained unbeaten on 12, guided India to a comfortable victory. India reached 59 in just five overs, or 30 balls. Japan’s women’s team have been eliminated from the tournament.
Games Officially Begin on Saturday
The Asian Games in Japan will officially begin on Saturday, September 19, but the Women’s T20 cricket tournament got underway a few days earlier according to the schedule, with India already completing their quarter-final against Japan.
In the other three quarter-finals, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh recorded victories.
Interestingly, Japan managed to bat through the entire 20 overs against the Asian champions India. Their final wicket fell on the fifth ball of the 20th over.
Japan were led by 33-year-old all-rounder Mei Yanagida. Sixteen-year-old opener Ayaka Kato-Standford was their top scorer with 25 runs.
Shri Charani Takes Four, Shafali Two Wickets
Among the Indian bowlers, spinner Shri Charani was the leading wicket-taker with four wickets, while Shafali Verma claimed two. The other two Indian spinners, Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil, took one wicket each.
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