India seals semifinal spot with 82-run win over Nepal

Shafali Verma smashed her career-best score of 81 against Nepal  

Explosive opener Shafali Verma slammed a career-best 48-ball 81 as defending champion India thrashed Nepal by 82 runs in its final group match to confirm its semifinal spot at the Women’s Asia Cup T20 tournament yesterday.With India shuffling the batting order, Shafali and Dayalan Hemalatha (47) opened the innings and gave India a flying start after stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat.

The opening duo smashed its way to 122 in 14 overs to lay the foundation.

Jemimah Rodrigues then hit an unbeaten 28 off 15 balls, including three fours in the final over, to take India to a solid 178 for three.

Nepal needed to achieve the target in or under 10 overs to surpass Pakistan on net run rate and qualify for the semifinals but they could only manage 96 for nine in its 20 overs, thanks to some superb bowling from the in-form Indian attack.

Deepti Sharma (3/13) was the most successful bowler for India as she snapped three wickets, while her spin colleague Radha Yadav (2/12) and seamer Arundhati Reddy (2/18), playing in place of a rested Pooja Vastrakar, snapped two each.

Pakistan, thus, became the second team to qualify for the semifinals from group A.

It proved to be a tough chase for Nepal as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals to slip to 52 for four in 10.2 overs with seamer Arundhati cleaning up both the openers -- Samjhana Khadka (7) and Sita Rana Magar (18).

Renuka Singh (1/15) then dismissed Kabita Kunwar (6), while Radha removed Indu Barma (14).

(Agencies)  
India Women: 178 for 3 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 81, Dayalan Hemalatha 47, Jemimah Rodrigues 28*, Sita Rana Magar 2-25, Kabita Joshi 1-36)  
Nepal Women: 96 for 9 in 20 overs (Sita Rana Magar 18, Deepti Sharma 3-13, Radha Yadav 2-12, Arundhati Reddy 2-28, Renuka Singh 1-15)