Smriti Mandhana’s Century Powers India to 137-Run Win- IPL

India reached the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup after beating Hong Kong by 137 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Harmanpreet Kaur’s team stayed unbeaten in the tournament with another strong performance.

India were led by Smriti Mandhana who hit an excellent century. India scored 193/5 through her innings of 124 from 64 balls. India restricted Hong Kong to a mere score of 56 in 16.2 overs. This was also the game that ensured India became the first to qualify for the semi-finals. India are the seven-time champions with four points in Group A.

Hong Kong were eliminated after the heavy defeat. India will next face Pakistan on September 5 in Dubai. Fatima Sana’s side will be their next challenge as India look to continue their unbeaten run.

Shafali Gives India a Fast Start

India didn’t begin with a fast start. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were cautious at the beginning of the innings. Only 26 runs were made in the first four overs by the Indian side. There was a change in innings in the last over of the powerplay period as Marina Lamplough gave away 22 runs. Shafali smacked two sixes and two fours, which helped India reach 60/0 after six overs.

A total of 72 runs were accumulated by Shafali and Mandhana in the partnership for the first wicket. Shafali then got out for 28 in 17 balls. Pratika Rawal scored 10 in 12 balls before getting out. Richa Ghosh was brought up as a fourth batsman ahead of Harmanpreet Kaur. She managed to score 11 runs whereas Harmanpreet managed to score 10 runs.

Mandhana Produces a Record Knock

Mandhana helped India maintain their dominance after losing early wickets. She started as an anchor batsman before targeting Hong Kong bowlers. Mandhana scored her fifty off 39 balls, and a six through Iqra Sahar over square leg took her to the mark.

After that, Mandhana raised the run-scoring rate. She employed the use of drives, pulls, sweeps, and lofted shots to score boundaries. It was hard to restrict Mandhana after she got going. Mandhana scored her second T20I century off just 57 balls in the 17th over. She was out in the last over having scored 124 off 64 balls. Mandhana scored 14 fours and seven sixes.

Scoring her century also meant Mandhana created another record. The Indian cricketer scored her 18th century in international cricket. She passed Laura Wolvaardt and Meg Lanning who both have 17 centuries in international cricket.

India’s Bowlers Destroy Hong Kong Chase

Hong Kong was under pressure in the chase. Only 16 runs were scored by them in the powerplay as India had continued the pressure from the start. Kranti Gaud opened the innings with some impressive bowling. Then came the turn of Nandani Sharma who provided India with its first wicket. Nandani Sharma bowled with some nice movement and accuracy. Nandani Sharma had used balls which initially moved away and then pitched back into the batter.

India’s spinners then took control. Prema Rawat bowled with good accuracy and turn. She dismissed the Hong Kong skipper Natasha Miles to end up with figures of 3-0-12-2. Deepti Sharma also bowled exceptionally well. She claimed three wickets for just nine runs while Shree Charani picked up two more wickets.

Hong Kong were bowled out in 16.2 overs. India won by 137 runs and qualified for the semis. With next opponent being Pakistan on September 5, the team led by Harmanpreet Kaur will have gained confidence from this performance.