3 min readSep 21, 2023 11:09 AM IST
First published on: Sep 21, 2023 at 11:09 AM IST
Indian women’s cricket team entered the semifinals of the Asian Games in Hangzhou after rain interruptions led to their match against Malaysia being called off before completion on Thursday. India posted a total of 173/5 in their reduced quota of 15 overs while Malaysia’s innings lasted just two balls. India progressed on the basis of being the higher-ranked team.
Smriti Mandhana and Co will take on the winner of Bangladesh versus Hong Kong China, which will take place on Friday at the Pingfeng Cricket Field in Zhejiang University of Technology.
Asked to bat first by Malaysia, India were off to a flying start with captain Mandhana and Shafali Verma finding the boundaries regularly. There were quite a full tosses to feast on, and Malaysia’s fielding let them down as well. Verma came down the track regularly to force the pace and it threw bowlers off their lengths.
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While faced with a packed offside field given her strengths, Mandhana showed tactical awareness to target the leg side as much as she could. But despite looking in good touch, the left-hander fell to spin inside the powerplay. It’s been a problem for the star batter off late and this dismissal will once again alert the spin-heavy bowling attacks of the other sides in the tournament.
The dismissal, however, didn’t slow India down. Verma was dropped on 18 at long on in the fourth over, and that was always going to prove costly for the Malaysians. The right-handed opener continued to smash the ball at will, on her way to a half century and finished with five sixes and four fours in her 39-ball 67.
Jemimah Rodrigues joined Verma at the fall of the first wicket and the duo kept the pace of scoring up after the first rain interruption that reduced the match to 15 overs per side.
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Rodrigues, complementing Verma’s brute power with more classical timing, displayed her range of strokes on the offside, driving and cutting at will in a stroke-filled 29-ball 47*.
The final act of the innings for India came from the returning Richa Ghosh. The keeper-batter, who was left out of the Bangladesh series recently, made a big impact in the end, scoring four boundaries in the final over. She finished unbeaten on 21 off just seven balls, with three fours and a six for a strike rate of 300.
The run-chase would have anyways been daunting for Malaysia but the weather ended the match after just two balls were bowled by Pooja Vastrakar.
India’s semifinal clash will be on 24 September. The medal matches are scheduled for 25 September.
Team India players Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh during the Indian innings. (PHOTO: X/@Media_SAI) 
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