Here's the full match report:
Gqeberha: Harmanpreet Kaur's India clinched their place in the semifinals of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, beating Ireland in a must-win match by via D/L Method in a rain-interrupted match. Having lost to England in a crucial Group B match, India had to beat Ireland on Monday to seal their place in the last four.
They managed to put up a decent score of 155/6 in their 20 overs. Ireland were 54/2 in 8.2 overs when rain stopped play. India eventually won the match as Ireland fell short of the revised target by five runs. Ireland made a solid recovery after two early blows but were behind the DLS par score by five runs as rain interrupted proceedings in Gqeberha.
A mix-up on the very first ball saw Hunter run at the wicketkeeper's end and Renuka Singh followed up her terrific new ball spell against England by cleaning up Prendergast to put India right on top early on in the second innings. Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany joined hands, and the pair did remarkably well to not let the required run rate climb too high, taking the team to 44/2 in the Powerplay. However, the rain came down in Gqeberha, putting a halt on Ireland's recovery and worryingly for them, they fell behind the DLS par score by five runs.
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana hammered a 56-ball 87 but the others failed to contribute big scores as India had to be satisfied with 155/6 in their 20 overs. Opener Mandhana was at her best on Monday, creaming her drives early on, before clearing the fence three times to up the ante through the middle overs.
Ireland could only send her back in the 19th over and soon followed it up with the wicket of Deepti Sharma on the next ball to peg India back pretty late. India opted to bat first after winning the toss and got off to a good start with Mandhana playing some crisp strokes. The openers put on a half-century stand before Shafali Verma fell for 24 with Amy Hunter taking a good, low catch in the deep.
Walking in at No.3, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur completed 3000 runs in T20Is, becoming the fourth women's cricketer to the landmark in this format. She forged a strong stand with Mandhana, who completed her half-century with a thumping six over mid-wicket. Harmanpreet fell in the 16th over, with Orla Prendergast taking a stunner running in from the deep. Laura Delany added another wicket in the same over, sending back Richa Ghosh for a duck to complete a three-wicket haul.
Ireland, meanwhile, haven't quite been able to replicate the performance that saw them triumph against Australia in the warm-up match. They have lost all three matches so far but will hope to test the Indian line-up to notch up their first win at the Women's T20 World Cup.
Harmanpreet Kaur and her team could have taken control of Group 2 and put one foot in the semi-finals with a win over England. But the failed attempt to chase down 152 temporarily left India's fate out of their own hands. But they were handed a huge boost when West Indies successfully defended 116 to beat Pakistan on Sunday. England booked their qualification with that result, and now India clinched their spot by beating Ireland despite the rain interruption.
Brief scores:
India 155/6 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 87, Shafali Verma 24; Laura Delany 3-33, Orla Prendergast 2-22) beat Ireland 54/2 in 8.2 overs (Gaby Lewis 32 not out, Laura Delany 19 not out) by five runs (DL Method). (IANS)
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- Smriti Mandhana's fluent 87 saw India cruising through to the semi-finals. Despite a valiant effort by the Ireland team, rain played spoilsport and helped India win the match by 5 runs. India are just two matches away from winning the trophy.
- Amy Hunter (1) and Orla Prendergast (0) have been dismissed so far -- Hunter went back to the pavillion after run-out and the latter was removed by Renuka Singh. Ireland, though, have recuperated their innings with Gaby Lewis batting at 32 and skipper Laura Delany at 17 runs. Ireland are well on their way to India's target. Rain has brought the match to a halt.
Mandhana lifts India to 155/6 with fluent 87
Gqeberha (South Africa): Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana stood out with a scintillating 56-ball 87 and lifted India to 155 for six against Ireland in the Women's T20 World Cup here on Monday. On a surface that was far from ideal for batting and where most struggled to force the pace, Mandhana stood out from the pack with nine delectable fours and three sixes.
Opting bat after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (13) won the toss, India were off to a fine start with the opening duo of Mandhana and Shafali Verma putting on 62 runs in just under 10 overs at St George's Park.
But Shafali once again got out after getting a start, caught by Amy Hunter off the bowling of skipper Laura Delany, who introduced herself into the attack after the frontline bowlers failed to get the team a breakthrough. Harmanpreet joined Mandhana in the middle, and the two looked to build on a partnership. Playing strokes turned out to be difficult on a surface that appeared to be a bit on the slower side.
The slow nature of the wicket notwithstanding, Mandhana maintained an excellent strike rate and reached her half-century in style, hitting leg-spinner Cara Murray for a six over deep mid-wicket. Mandhana was lucky to have survive a scare just before getting to her fifty, but Arlene Kelly could not complete the catch after the batter top-edged a tossed-up delivery from Murray towards mid-wicket.
Mandhana then struck two successive fours off Georgina Dempsey, before sending Delany over the cow corner for another maximum. Ireland came back with the wickets of Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh in successive balls, but Mandhana continued to attack the bowlers and hit two more boundaries off Kelly before giving the same treatment to Delany, striking her for a four and a six to help India inch towards 150.
A century was on the cards, but Mandhana's brilliant innings came to an end as she tried to take the aerial route. Jemimah Rodrigues struck two fours in the final over, before getting off in the last ball of the India innings for a 12-ball 19. (PTI)
Brief Scores:
India: 155 for 6 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 87; Laura Delany 3/33, Orla Prendergast 2/22).
- Shafali Verma (24 off 28) loses her wicket to Laura Delany. Not a perfect innings but India has got the start it was looking for.
- Both the openers Shafali Verma (13) and Smriti Mandhana (23) have provided the start that India was looking for with some lovely singles and boundaries. It's all about capitalising on the start hereon.
St George's Park, Gqeberha: India won the toss on Monday and opted to bat against Ireland here at the T20 World Cup.
Here's what the captain had to say:
Laura Delany: We have to put in our best performance, need to stick to the process. Think the pressure is on India in this game. The players have shown glimpses of what they are capable of doing at this stage. Georgina Dempsey is in for Jane Maguire.
Harmanpreet Kaur: We are going to bat first. Looks a hard and dry surface. Many of us haven't got that many runs, we need to express ourselves. Devika is playing in place of Radha. It (playing 150 T20I games) means a lot, I got an emotional message from my team-mates. Thanks to BCCI and ICC, we are able to play so many games.
Teams:
Ireland Women (Playing XI): Amy Hunter, Gaby Lewis, Orla Prendergast, Eimear Richardson, Louise Little, Laura Delany(c), Arlene Kelly, Mary Waldron(w), Leah Paul, Cara Murray, Georgina Dempsey
India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh
