Shafali Verma and bowlers combine in all-round show for India-W to raze Bangladesh-W
The Indian women’s cricket team stormed hammer and tongs into the final of the Asian Games as they brushed aside Bangladesh without breaking any sweat in the semi-final in Nisshin.
An all-round performance from the Women in Blue spearheaded by Shafali Verma was more than enough to propel India to the summit clash of the tournament.
Winning the toss, India opted to bat first. The opening duo of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana went after the bowlers right from the onset of the innings. The two smashed 72 runs in the powerplay with Verma driving the charge initially while Smriti played second fiddle. However, in no time, Mandhana shifted gears and she powered to a quickfire 37 off just 19 balls, smashing five fours and two sixes.
From there it was all Shafali, who took it upon her to regulate the innings. She registered her maiden WT20I century, sneaking a single past Shorna Akter in the final ball of the innings. Verma stayed unbeaten for 100 off just 49 balls, rocking three fours and nine sixes.
Harmanpreet Kaur (40) started slow but managed to put in a persistent shift, adding 94 runs for third wicket, alongside Shafali. India posted 195/4 at the end of 20 overs, forcing Bangladesh to carve a record chase if they wanted to clinch themselves a ticket for the finale.
Dilara Akter (27) was Bangladesh’s most shining light but that wasn’t enough for them to even threaten the Indian target. Nandani Sharma struck on the first ball to remove Juairiya Ferdous (0) while Kranti Gaud struck in short succession to get the better of Sobhana Mistry (4).
Sree Charani joined the act as well, striking down the Bangladesh captain, Nigar Sultana (9) while Shreyanka Patil saw the back of Shorna Akter (5) as Bangladesh kept on wobbling, a million lightyears away from the stipulated number that they had to chase down.
Deepti Sharma eliminated Dilara from the equation, reducing Bangladesh to an uncomfortable corner from where they needed more than a miracle to bring them anywhere closer to the target. The Indian bowlers simply didn’t relent as they bundled out Bangladesh for 81 from just 15.4 overs. Nandani Sharma and Deepti Sharma claimed three wickets each while Sree Charani claimed a brace to secure India their gold-medal clash while winning the game by 114 runs.
