Twitter Reactions: Shafali Verma, bowlers string together instrumental victory for India

Match 10 of the Women's Asia Cup 2024, which was India’s third and final league-stage encounter, marked the first instance where they won the toss.

Their decision to bat first swiftly proved beneficial, as four of the six powerplay overs amassed 10 runs or more. Shafali Verma emerged as the aggressor, while Dayalan Hemalatha maintained a scoring rate of less than run-a-ball.

The decision by standby skipper, Smriti Mandhana, to lower herself in the batting order to give other players a chance proved advantageous, as the Indian team surged past the 100-run mark by the 11th over. The opening partnership was ultimately broken at 122 on the final delivery of the 14th over; however, by that point, the damage had already been caused.

Verma seemed poised for a maiden T20I century but was stumped while attempting an extravagant swing on the third delivery of the 16th over. Left-arm orthodox, Sita Rana Magar, who emerged as the standout performer from the Nepalese side, secured her second wicket of the evening with that dismissal. A brisk unbeaten 28* off 15 deliveries from Jemimah Rodrigues propelled her side to a formidable total of 178/3 by the close of their innings.

Also Check: Most Runs in Women's Asia Cup 2024

In the run-chase, the Nepalese struggled to build momentum and were unable to seize their chance, losing a couple of wickets during the powerplay with merely 31 runs on the board. The dismissal of Rana Magar exacerbated their difficulties, as the Nepalese side faltered to 52/4 by the 11th over, at which point the Indians had amassed nearly double that total during the first innings.

India persisted in claiming wickets at regular intervals, with Tanuja Kanwar delivering a maiden over, followed by a double-wicket over from Deepti Sharma, the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing edition so far. This series of events decisively determined the fate of the Nepalese side, who ultimately managed only 96 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs. Arundhati Reddy and Sajeevan Sajana were the only bowlers to concede runs at a rate exceeding 7 runs per over.

Check Here: Most Wickets Women's Asia Cup 2024

With this decisive 82-run triumph, India advanced to the semi-finals of the competition, Pakistan being the other team from their group.

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