Shafali Verma was the standout performer in the match against Nepal. The Indian women’s cricket team sealed a worthy place in the semifinals of the Women’s Asia Cup T20 with an impressive win in Tuesday’s match. The central character of the day was India’s dominant display, which saw the team through to victory by 82 runs. This win makes the women in blue the strong favorites to lift the trophy.
Shafali Verma Explosive Batting Display
The standout performer in the match was Shafali Verma, India’s explosive opener. Verma blazed her way to 81 runs off just 48 deliveries, an innings studded with 12 boundaries and a towering six. She was in explosive form right from the word go and laid the platform for India’s imposing total. Stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat first. Shafali Verma and Dayalan Hemalatha, the opening pair, provided a fierce start by piling up 122 runs in a mere 14 overs. Their partnership laid quite a solid foundation for India’s innings and kept the Nepalese bowlers under pressure right from the start.
While the openers got off to an explosive start, Jemimah Rodrigues played a vital role in multiplying India’s total. Rodrigues remained undefeated for a quickfire 28 runs off just 15 balls, and in this one final over, she had three boundaries to set up quite a good chase for the opposition team. Her cameo ensured India didn’t lose steam at the end and notched up a strong target of 178 runs for the loss of three wickets in their allotted quota.
The target of 179 to chase against the disciplined bowling attack of India was not an easy task for Nepal. Despite their best effort, Nepal could only make 96 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs. The Indian bowlers never let Nepal get away, gripping tightly right from the start.
Superb Bowling Display by India
India’s bowling unit was just as impressive as their batting performance. Deepti Sharma led the charge with three wickets for 13 runs, and her tight lines, along with variations, again flummoxed Nepalese batsmen. Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy chipped in with two each to keep the nose on Nepal. Nepal could never build any worthwhile partnership and the wickets kept falling at regular intervals. It was early blows, taken by Arundhati Reddy, that removed the openers, and Deepti Sharma’s spin took the fight away from Nepal’s middle order. India’s disciplined bowling never really let Nepal get close to their imposing total.
Shafali Verma’s attacking batting was ably complemented by the other end’s consistency provided by Dayalan Hemalatha. Hemalatha, after struggling in the initial few balls, did the vital job of holding the innings to provide Shafali Verma with all the required support to get an imposing total. Their opening partnership laid the foundation for India’s win. She dominated the bowling right from the word go in Verma’s innings. She made most of the loose deliveries and sent them racing to the boundary without much hassle. Her fifty came in just 26 balls, a testament to her aggressive intent and the ability to raise the scoring rate at the beginning itself.
The win sealed a spot in the semifinals of the Women’s Asia Cup T20. An all-round performance, involving a scintillating act at batting by Shafali Verma and incisive bowling spearheaded by Deepti Sharma, set the tone for what lies ahead in this tournament. India’s dominating performance over Nepal leads to the semifinal.
