NOVEMBER 15, 2018
Brief Scorecard: India 145 for 6 (Mithali 51, Mandhana 33, Garth 2-22) beat Ireland 93 for 8 (Joyce 33, Shillington 23, Radha 3-25) by 52 runs
PROVIDENCE, GUYANA – NOVEMBER 15: Mithali Raj of India bats with Mary Waldron wicket keeper of Ireland looking on during the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 match between India and Ireland at Guyana National Stadium on November 15, 2018 in Providence, Guyana. (Photo by Jan Kruger-IDI/IDI via Getty Images)
PROVIDENCE, GUYANA – A target of 146 proved too much for Ireland as India romped home by 52 runs to make it to the semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 for the third time.
It was always going to be a tough task for the lowly Irish side against mighty India and the chase never even threatened to get going. India kept tabs on the run rate and kept chipping away at wickets and that meant Ireland were always behind the eight-ball.
Writing was on the wall as soon as the third over when despite trying to hit cover of the ball Gabby Lewis failed to get a run from the Mansi Joshi over.
Deepti Sharma gave India the breakthrough as she removed Lewis for a painstakingly slow 9 off her very first delivery. Claire Shillington and Isobel tried to up the run-rate but all to no avail as quality of India bowling always kept the score in check.
Radha Yadav was India’s most successful bowler picking up three wickets in her four overs, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur bowled her four overs for mere 10 runs, stifling the Irish batters.
The result also means end of the end of the road for Pakistan and New Zealand who are on two and zero points respectively.
India next take on Australia to determine who takes the top spot in Group B of the tournament.
Earlier, Ireland managed to restrict India to a below-par score of 146/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Opener Mithali Raj was the pick of the batters for the ‘Women in Blue’ as she slammed her 17th T20I half-century, which also brough her the player of the match award.
Smriti Mandhana and Mithali got off to a good start as they added 67 runs in the first 10 overs. The duo kept rotating the strike well in the initial overs and then hit a few boundaries to put the pressure on the opposition.
Ireland managed to break the opening stand with the help of medium-pacer Kim Garth, who rattled the southpaw’s stumps for 33.
The decision to bring in Jemimah Rodrigues at number three didn’t work out well as Mithali never got going despite hitting four boundaries and a six.
Young Rodrigues hit three fours in his 11-ball-18 but was stumped off Laura Delany’s wide delivery when she tried to give charge.
Harmanpreet Kaur hit a six but was soon dismissed before she could add crucial runs to the total in the dying overs. As wickets fell at one end, Mithali couldn’t shift gears at the other and was finally removed in the 19th over by Garth.
Courtesy/Source: HTimes
