India Womens Qualify for Semi-Final for World Cup Over Ireland by 5 Runs: On February 20, 2023, Gqeberha witnessed the 18th match of the Group 2 of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup between India and Ireland. This game had all the ingredients of a nail-biter as India won by a close margin of 5 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. India’s opener, Smriti Mandhana, played a career-best knock of 87 off 56 balls, which proved to be the game-changer.
Winning the toss, India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur elected to bat first. With Shafali Verma, Mandhana opened the innings for India. It was a shaky start for both the Indian openers, but they managed to stitch a 62-run partnership for the first wicket. Shafali, who was struggling to find the middle of her bat, was caught by Ireland’s captain Laura Delany for a 29-ball 24.
Harmanpreet came in at number three, but she couldn’t get going as she fell for 13 off 20 balls. The Irish fielder, Orla Prendergast, took a spectacular catch to dismiss the Indian skipper. However, Mandhana, who had a few lives during her innings, changed her approach after reaching her half-century. She started hitting with the wind and smashed two sixes and four boundaries in 16 balls after reaching the 50-run mark.
India managed to put on 92 runs in the final ten overs, thanks to Mandhana’s blitzkrieg. They finished with a score of 155 for 6 in 20 overs. Delany was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland with three wickets for 33 runs, and Prendergast finished with figures of 2 for 22.
In response, Ireland got off to a terrible start, losing two wickets in the very first over. Renuka Singh bowled Prendergast for a duck, and Amy Hunter was run out on the first delivery of the innings. However, Gaby Lewis and Delany steadied the Irish ship and started finding boundaries against both pace and spin.
Lewis remained unbeaten on 32 off 25 balls before the rain halted the game. Ireland needed 60 runs from 50 balls to win when the match was abandoned due to rain, and they were five runs behind the DLS par-score. Thus, India won by five runs via the DLS method.
With this victory, India has qualified for the semifinals of the Women’s T20 World Cup, along with England. Unless England loses to Pakistan in their final group game, India will play Australia in the first semifinal.
Mandhana’s innings was the highlight of the match. She played with grit and determination, even though she had a few lives during her innings. It was her first half-century in the tournament, and she chose the right time to bring it up. Her innings allowed India to set a competitive total, which proved to be a match-winning one in the end.
The weather played spoilsport in the match, and both teams had to deal with windy conditions. The players had to adjust their game according to the conditions, and it was a challenge for them to play with and against the wind. In the end, it was the rain that had the final say in the match.
Ireland, on the other hand, had a forgettable tournament, losing all their four matches. They couldn’t get going in the tournament and lacked the firepower to challenge the other teams. They will have to go back to the drawing board and come back stronger in the next edition of the tournament.
Overall, it was a thrilling encounter between India and Ireland, and Mandhana’s innings took Indian women team to the semifinals.
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