Left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana played her career-best T20I knock to guide India to a 5-run win over Ireland in a rain-hit match at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Monday, February 20. With this win, India scraped into the semifinals of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
India’s victory also meant that both West Indies and Pakistan were knocked out from the group stages of the tournament.
After electing to bat first in a must-win clash, the Women in Blue posted 155-6 on the scoreboard with the help of Mandhana’s 56-ball 87. She was dropped four times in the outfield during her stay in the middle.
While other bowlers suffered because of dropped catches, Ireland captain Laura Delany benefitted from three remarkable catches in the deep to pick three wickets for 33.
In reply to India’s competitive total, the Irish side got off to a horrendous start, losing two wickets in the first over. Opening batter Amy Hunter was run-out on the first delivery before Renuka Singh cleaned up Orla Prendergast in the last ball to leave Ireland reeling at 1-2.
However, Gaby Lewis added an unbeaten 53-run partnership for the third wicket with Delany before rain stopped play. Lewis smashed 32 runs off 25 balls, while Delany scored 17 runs off 20 balls as Ireland finished with 54-2 in 8.2 overs.
The Irish fell just short of the DLS-par score as India moved ahead with two points to seal a semifinal spot. They finish behind England in Group 2 and will now take the defending champion Australia in the first semifinal.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ ๐#TeamIndia have marched into the Semi Final of the #T20WorldCup ๐ ๐
Well Done! ๐ ๐ pic.twitter.com/mEbLtYhSm5
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 20, 2023
