Smriti Mandhana led India Women’s team reached the semi-finals of the Asian Games 2023 after their quarterfinal match against Malaysia was called off due to rain at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket field on Thursday. India finally made it through to the semifinals owing to their high points after the fixture was washed out.
After rains showed no signs of stopping & there were no chances of the game resuming for the next hour, the fixture was finally called off. Considering India Women’s dominant run in the ongoing Asia Games 2023, they received a green signal to march into the semi-finals.
How does the India Women’s Team reserve a spot in the Asian Games 2023 Semi-finals?
Coming to the fixture, Malaysia won the toss & opted to field first in the overcast conditions. Batting first crucial knocks from Shafali Verma & Jemimah Rodrigues & a quick cameo of 21 runs from Richa Ghosh helped India to post 173-2 runs total onboard against Malaysia in a rain-curtailed quarterfinal 1 fixture.
At the beginning of the fixture, top knocks from Smriti Mandhana & Shafali Verma in the top order helped India to lay the foundation of their stunning win. The duo dealt in boundaries against Malaysia to accelerate India’s innings in the powerplay overs. Soon their blooming stand was broken when Mahirah Izzato removed Mandhana for 27 runs. Mandhana’s dismissal brought Rodrigues onto the field to provide valuable support to Shafali.
Shafali continued to hit back-to-back boundaries of Nur Dania Syuhada’s delivery. India’s prolific opener continued to target the midwicket area & continued the shower of sixes & fours. Shafali & Rodrigues smashed Malaysian bowlers across the ground to take India over the 100-run mark in the 10th over. Shafali then brought up her half-century in style as she smashed Winifred Duraisingam for two sixes & a four in the 11th over of the game. She quickly reached her half-century in just 31 balls.
Shafali & Rodrigues’s blistering knocks did the job for India Women’s team
Shafali was making Malaysian bowlers dance to her tune as she was only dealing with boundaries. She got valuable support from Rodrigues who was helping her in reaching a decent total. Soon the duo stitched a massive 86-run stand & were heading strong in their pursuit of a big total. But soon their stand was broken by Mas Elysa who scalped the prize wicket of Shafali. The Indian opener then went back to the hut after scoring 67 runs.
Then came Richa Ghosh on the field & opened her run-tally by smashing Mas Elysa for three fours & one six, scoring 20 runs in the last over. Richa’s blistering cameo helped India to post a target of 173-2 on board before rain played a spoilsport. The fixture was already curtailed to 15 overs per side due to rain & later due to the re-occurrence of rain the fixture ended in No Result.
With India Women enjoying a dominant run on the Women’s Asian Games 2023 Points Table, they earned a direct entry into the semifinals of the marquee event. India Women’s cricket team will play their semifinals on Sunday. Smriti Mandhana’s side may face arch-rivals Pakistan women’s team if Pakistan side can defeat Indonesia women in the second quarterfinal later today.
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