Team India beats Ireland to get into the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup after thrashing Ireland by 5 runs by Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method in a rain-affected match at St George’s Park on Monday. India became the third team to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the 2023 T20 Women’s World Cup after beating Ireland by DLS method at St George’s Park. Smriti Mandhana scored 87 and formed the backbone of India’s overall 155/6 in 20 overs.
The 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup finalists showed their dominance by dismissing 2 top batsmen from Ireland in the opening. Pursuing a total of 156, Ireland lost 2 quick wickets of Amy Hunter and Orla Prendergast in the first over. A mix-up on the first ball saw Hunter run to the end of the wicketkeeper and Renuka Singh continued her superb new-ball magic against England, clearing Prendergast to put India ahead early in the second inning.
The duo of Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany livened up the innings for Ireland as they beat the Indian bowlers all over the floor while periodically stealing singles’ Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany teamed up and the pair did very well not to overdo the required run rate, leading the team to 44/2 on the power play.
However, rain disturbance halted Ireland’s recovery and gave India a place in the semi-finals of the T20 Women’s World Cup by beating Ireland by DLS method.
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana’s 87-round goal led India to
India opted to bat first after winning the toss and got off to a good start when Smriti Mandhana played some crisp shots.
The opening players put up a half-century stand before Shafali Verma went down for 24. Amy Hunter received a fantastic catch in the deep down on Laura Delany’s ball in the 10th over of the game.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur joined opener Mandhana and smashed the Irish bowlers to the ground. Captain Harmanpreet, who finished 3rd, completed 3,000 runs in T20I, becoming the fourth female cricketer to reach the milestone in that format. She established a strong position with Mandhana, who ended her half-century with six strikes. Mandhana got her fifty out in 40 balls with an excellent six from Cara Murray’s delivery. The duo of Harmanpreet and Mandhana pushed her team’s total past the 100-run mark in the fifteenth of the innings. Laura Delany then bowled a remarkable spell to dismiss Harmanpreet Kaur for 13. She also picked up Richa Ghosh for a duck. Mandhana held the line for India but the batsman fell on the 19th of the game to Orla Prendergast’s impressive display. Mandhana returned to the arena after scoring 87 of 56 deliveries. Read More: Team India squads for the last 2 Tests and ODI series against Australia announced
India then lost the wicket to Deepti Sharma. India eventually made 155/6 in 20 overs with Jemimah Rodrigues hitting 2 boundaries in the final over. In the second last over, Arlene Kelly sacked Jemimah Rodrigues’ wicket to limit India to 155/6 in 20 overs.
Short Score: India 155/6 (Smriti Mandhana 87, Shafali Verma 24; Laura Delany 3-33) v Ireland 54/2 (8.2) (Gaby Lewis 32* Laura Delany 17*; Renuka Thakur Singh 1-10). _________________________________________________________________________________
