Ireland’s comeback in the Group 2 match in Gqeberha was halted by weather, and India advanced to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semifinals.
India defeated Ireland at St. George’s Park on Monday, using the DLS technique to advance as the third team to the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 semifinals.
India scored 155/6 in 20 overs, with Smriti Mandhana’s 87 serving as the foundation. The 2020 champions demonstrated their dominance by returning two important Ireland batters in the first over.
Photo Credit: t20worldcup.com
India wins its rain-soaked match against Ireland to progress to the Women’s T20WC 2023 semifinals.
Match clips from India’s victory over Ireland at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, which guaranteed them a spot in the knockout rounds.
As the second innings began in the Group 2 clash at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, Ireland’s hopes were high as they aimed to chase down India’s total of 155/6. However, their aspirations took a massive hit right from the first ball of the innings. The Irish batsmen found themselves in a mix-up, which resulted in Hunter charging towards the wicketkeeper’s end. The Indian team was quick to capitalize on the confusion and saw an opportunity to make an early breakthrough. Renuka Singh, who had already put up a fantastic performance against England, sensed a chance to dismiss Prendergast, and she executed her plan to perfection. Singh’s delivery was cleverly disguised and caught Prendergast off guard, and Bhatia, the wicketkeeper, made no mistake in completing the dismissal. With this early setback, India gained an upper hand in the second innings and set the tone for a dominant performance in the match.
Photo Credit: t20worldcup.com
Despite the early setback of losing two wickets, Ireland’s hopes were kept alive by the impressive partnership of Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany, who showed resilience and skill in their batting approach. The duo batted with caution and determination, effectively managing to curtail the required run rate and reaching a score of 44/2 during the power play. However, their efforts were hampered by the sudden onset of rain in Gqeberha, which brought their progress to a standstill. Adding to their woes, Ireland was trailing by five runs behind the DLS par score, leading to further worries about their prospects of securing a win.
Despite the rain delay interrupting the game, the Indian team remained confident in their ability to defend their total, thanks to the exceptional performance of their opening batter, Smriti Mandhana. Mandhana’s innings of 87 runs off 59 balls was the driving force behind India’s total of 155/6. Her aggressive batting style and remarkable strokeplay put the Irish bowlers on the back foot and set the pace for the Indian innings. Notably, Mandhana hit three towering sixes during her innings, which proved to be crucial in getting India to a competitive total. Her commanding presence at the crease undoubtedly boosted the morale of the Indian team, who were looking to clinch their second win of the tournament.
In addition to Mandhana’s standout innings, the Indian team’s batting performance was also boosted by the aggressive start provided by Shafali Verma. Opening the innings alongside Mandhana, Verma quickly made her mark with her attacking stroke play, scoring 24 runs off just 16 balls. Verma’s confidence and flair were on full display as she hit two fours and two sixes, threatening to take the game away from Ireland early on. However, her knock was cut short when she was dismissed by Amy Hunter, ending what could have been a potentially explosive innings. Despite Verma’s early exit, her contribution to the team’s total should not be overlooked, as her aggressive approach set the tone for the rest of the Indian batting order to follow.
The Indian skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, also made a significant contribution to the team’s total. Kaur scored 21 runs off 19 balls and became the fourth women’s cricketer to score 3000 runs in T20Is. Kaur’s partnership with Mandhana was crucial in setting up the Indian innings, and their contributions proved to be the difference in the end.
In the final analysis, it was India’s impressive all-round performance that saw them through to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. Their batting, led by Mandhana, proved to be too much for the Irish bowlers to handle, and their bowling attack was equally effective in restricting the Irish team’s run chase. Despite the rain interruption, India emerged as the clear winners of the match, securing their spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.
In Gqeberha, Mandhana was at her best. She started out by cruising through her drives before clearing the boundary three times to up the ante in the middle overs.
Ireland only managed to send her back in the 19th over, and they quickly backed it up by taking Deepti Sharma’s wicket on the following pitch to pin India back relatively late.
After 20 overs, they managed to score 155/6, with Jemimah Rodrigues striking two boundaries in the last over.
Earlier, India chose to box first after winning the toss, and they got off to a strong start thanks to some sharp strokeplay from Mandhana. Before Shafali Verma fell for 24 runs, the openers put on a half-century partnership. Amy Hunter took a good, low catch in the deep.
At the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, Smriti Mandhana played the Player of the Match innings to lead India to win over Ireland.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, entered the game at No. 3 and became the fourth female player to reach the milestone in T20Is by scoring 3000 runs. She formed a solid partnership with Mandhana, who hit a thunderous six over midwicket to bring up her half-century.
Orla Prendergast took a shocker racing in from deep as Harmanpreet fell in the 16th over. Richa Ghosh was returned for a duck by Laura Delany in the same over, giving her a three-wicket total.
