NEP W VS IND W T20

Right then, that is it from this contest and also from Group A. India Women and Pakistan Women have sealed their passage to the semifinals and can now sit back and relax for a couple of days before returning to action. There are still a couple of matches in Group B which will decide who will join India and Pakistan. You can join us on the 24th of June at 1.30 pm IST (8 am GMT) for the first semifinal in which India Women will feature and even before that for the build-up. But for now, you can switch tabs and keep a watch on matches from the TNPL and The Hundred which are ongoing right now. Cheers!

Smriti Mandhana, the victorious skipper of India Women is up for a chat. She says that as an opener there are very less chances that she doesn't get to bat and says that the middle order hadn't been batting much. Mentions that it wasn't decided to shift the batting order but the middle order had a good game to get things going. Adds that post the Women's T20 League, their World Cup preparations had started and mentions that to win the tournament it needs a lot of planning. Says that she was impressed with how Nepal enjoyed the game and liked their encouragement towards their teammates and appreciated their game. Adds that they aren't taking any team lightly and nothing changes for them. Ends by saying that they will rest and prepare well for the game.

Shafali Verma is the Player of the Match for her scintillating knock of 81 runs from just 48 balls. She says she is really happy with her consistent performance, but she feels she has to finish the overs better. She also stated that she scanned the opposition's fielding setup and aimed to hit the boundaries along the ground. She ends up saying that she is feeling really confident with the team and says that the double hundred against South Africa boosted her confidence as she was not in great form before.

Indu Barma, the captain of Nepal Women is up for a chat. She says that she is proud of the team and the effort they put in. Adds that they will comeback strongly and got great exposure playing against a strong side. Mentions that after the 10th over in the first innings, their bowlers got good momentum and restricted the batters. Says that they will practice more and ends by saying it was a great experience playing against the likes of India and Pakistan..

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, the stand-in skipper for India Women, Smriti Mandhana opted to bat first in order to put on a big total on the board. The new opening pairing of Dayalan Hemalatha and Shafali Verma answered the skipper's call and got off to a rollicking start. They put on 122 big runs before both batters got out and Verma missed out on what would have been a very solid ton. Jemimah Rodrigues was the enforcer in the death overs as India managed to get to 178 runs in their 20 overs. For Nepal Women, it was Sita Magar who was the pick of the bunch with 2/25 in her 4 overs but the catching let them down in the big moments. In reply, India Women simply had too much firepower with the ball and in the field to restrict Nepal to just 96 runs.

Although the match was long gone for Nepal, along with their qualification chances, they can still afford to smile with their performance against a dominant nation. This is the 10th game in a row where they have not been bowled out. Always need something to take away from a defeat, as a positive. Talking about their batting, however, a few of the batters threatened to do well but weren't able to kick on. Sita Magar, Indu Barma, Rubina Chhetry, and Bindu Rawal all got into double figures but none of them could stay at the crease for a longer period of time. They would have loved to get to triple digits with the bat but will take some solace in the fact that they aren't going home without a single win.

India Women have rocketed into the semifinals of the 2024 Women's Asia Cup with a third straight comprehensive win. Even without regular skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur and one of their key all-rounders, Pooja Vastrakar, the Indians had more than enough firepower to make light work of the opposition. Arundhati Reddy who was one of the players that came into the playing XI for this match was the first one to pick up a wicket and they bossed the Powerplay. The spinners also came to the fore and the trio of Tanuja Kanwar, Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav were clinical. Deepti finished with three wickets and India managed to keep Nepal under the 100-run mark.

Short delivery wide outside off. Bindu Rawal shuffles across the stump, opens her stance, and heaves it across the line towards the deep mid-wicket region. They called for a double. The throw was not up to the mark as Deepti Sharma had to charge towards the throw, collect the ball, and throw it directly to the stumps at the non-striker's end. But the big screen shows that Sabnam Rai was safe as she dived and got the double in their pockets. A positive intent by the two batters but the results didn't favor them.

Is that a run-out now on the final delivery? For a third time in this over, the third umpire has been called into action. Good determination shown there by the Nepal Women batters to push for the second run. The throw from the deep doesn't have much bite on it and Deepti Sharma collects the ball before smashing the stumps at the bowler's end. The replays show that the dive saved Sabnam Rai. NOT OUT!

Fuller delivery on middle. Bindu Rawal prods and eases it back to the bowler.

Fuller delivery on off and middle. Sabnam Rai hangs back and tucks it towards the front of the mid-wicket fielder. The fielder has a shy at the striker's end but Bindu Rawal was in the crease just in time. A direct hit would ask questions!

Pretty amazing glovework there by Richa Ghosh! Deepti Sharma bowls it a bit short and on the pads. Sabnam Rai tries to nudge it away but gets hit on the pads. He is a step out of her crease and Richa Ghosh collects the ball and takes off the bails. The replays show that Rai grounded her bat just moments before Ghosh took off the bails and the third umpire declares it as NOT OUT.

Is that stumped? The umpires have now gone upstairs for a stumping, no, a run-out referral. It seemed that Sabnam Rai was inside the crease in real time but it's a lot closer on the slow-motion replays. Excellent work from Richa Ghosh as well and it is touch and go. The third umpire checks it thoroughly and it seems that Sabnam just had her bat down in time. NOT OUT is the decision on the big screen.

Sabnam Rai is the last batter in for Nepal Women.

OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! BRILLIANT CATCH! Deepti Sharma tosses it up and outside off. Kajal Shrestha gets early into the shot and hits it flat back towards Deepti Sharma. She leans ahead and takes a fantastic low catch. The replays showed that she had her fingers under the ball and hence it was adjudged as a fair catch. India Women just one wicket away from cleaning up Nepal Women.

OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! BRILLIANT CATCH! Deepti Sharma tosses it up and outside off. Kajal Shrestha gets early into the shot and hits it flat back towards Deepti Sharma. She leans ahead and takes a fantastic low catch. The replays showed that she had her fingers under the ball and hence it was adjudged as a fair catch. India Women just one wicket away from cleaning up Nepal Women.

Is that a clean catch? It seems like Deepti Sharma has just managed to pluck the ball above the deck but the umpires want to be sure and have gone upstairs. The replays roll in and we can see that the fingers are underneath the ball and it will be OUT on the big screen.