Dambulla, Jul 23 (IANS): India crushed Nepal by 82 runs in the Group A match of the Women's Asia Cup to progress to the semi-final here at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium here on Tuesday. India secured their third consecutive win of the tournament and topped their group with six points.
After Shafali Verma's fiery innings, Indian spinners showed their class against minnows Nepal to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.
In the 179 chase, Nepal were never in the picture as they lost the opener Samjhana Khadka (7) in the second over by Anurndhati Reddy. Sita Rana Magar and Kabita Kunwar tried to stabilise the side in the Power-play but Reddy gave them another jolt by removing Kunwar (6) in the fifth over.
However, Sita and captain Indu Barma showed some sign of fightback as the duo added 22 runs for the third-wicket partnership. The ray of hope didn't last for Nepal as Radha Yadav broke the stand, leaving them reeling at 43/3 after 9.2 overs.
Sita's stay in the middle didn't last longer as she too was sent back to the pavilion by Reddy in the next over. Nepal lost their half of the side inside 11 overs with more than 120 runs to win.
Things turned from bad to worse for Nepal in the 14th over as they lost Rubina Chetry (15) and Kabita Joshi (0) in the span of three balls off Deepti Sharma. Nepal failed to recover in time and went on to lose wickets at regular intervals and finished their innings for 96/9 in 20 overs. For India, Deepti returned with the figures of 3-13 in her four overs while Reddy and Radha bagged two scalps each.
Earlier, Shafali Verma's scintillating half-century (81 off 47 balls) coupled with Dayalan Hemalatha's 47 powered India to 178/3 after opting to bat first.
Shafali and Hemalatha showed no mercy from the beginning of the match. The 20-year-old made her intentions clear in the first over by hitting two fours against Kabita Kumwar's first over. She continued the onslaught from the one end while Hemalatha held the other end strong.
Shafali made sure that boundaries came at regular intervals and showed no mercy to any Nepalese bowler in the middle. Her ferocious batting took India to 50/0 at the end of the Power-play. Shafali flexed her arms and hit Rubina Chhetry for a six on a full toss in the seventh over as she switched gears. In no time, she brought up her 10th T20I half-century off 26 balls in the eighth over.
The youngster didn't look back and intensified her attack as Nepal looked clueless to break the partnership. However, they had a chance to send Hemalatha back to the pavilion in the 12th over but captain Indu Barma dropped the catch at long-off.
In the 14th over, Sita Rana Magar finally got hold of Hemalatha (47) as Rubina Chhetry made no mistake at long-on to give India the first blow of the match.
Shafali also got a respite in the next over before finally getting out on 81. She struck 12 fours and a six during her 48-ball knock.
Sajeevan Sajana and Jemimah Rodrigues came together for a brief 23-run partnership and steered the side to the 150-run mark. Sajana (10) failed to extend her stay in the middle as she was trapped lbw by Kabita Joshi in the 19th over.
In the end, Rodrigues showed her attacking prowess and hammered quickfire 28 not out off 15 balls studded with five fours while Richa Gosh remained unbeaten on six off three balls as India posted 178/3 in 20 overs. For Nepal, Sita Rana Magar bagged two wickets and returned with the figures of 2-25 in her four overs.
India will face the second-placed team of Group B in the semifinal on Friday.
Brief scores:
India 178/3 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 81, Dayalan Hemalatha 47; Sita Rana Magar 2-25) beat Nepal 96/9 in 20 overs (Bindu Rawal 17*, Sita Rana Magar 18; Deepti Sharma 3-13, Radha Yadav 2-12) by 82 runs.