India Dominates UAE with Record Breaking T20I Total
India advanced to the Women’s Asia Cup semifinals and set a new T20I record with their 201 runs scored with a decisive win over UAE.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh gave tremendous performances in the Dambulla match, propelling India to a dominating lead.
UAE 123 for 7 (Egodage 40, Oza 36, Deepti 2-23) was defeated by India 201 for 5 (Harmanpreet 66, Ghosh 64*, Egodage 2-36) by a margin of 78 runs.
With a straightforward victory over UAE, where their bowlers amassed plenty of mileage and their middle order received a much-needed hit out, India all but confirmed their place in the semi-finals.
India achieved their first-ever total of 200+ in Twenty20 Internationals thanks to a remarkable late acceleration by Richa Ghosh, who smashed an undefeated 64 off just 29 balls. Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with 66.
Even though skipper Esha Oza and batsman Kavisha Egodage both played well, hitting 36 and 40 not out, respectively, UAE rarely presented a threat. It should give the UAE greater confidence because they scored more than the 115 for 8 they were able to face Nepal, a team ranked lower.
UAE is still mathematically alive to compete in the semi-finals despite the setback. Pakistan should survive if they defeat Nepal in the evening match.
When India was added, they weren’t overly unhappy. The possibility of their rampaging openers, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, stealing the show once more lingered. But the UAE had the chance to take advantage of it at 52 for 3 within the powerplay.
D Hemalatha would have been especially sad to have lost out on another chance to claim the No. 3 slot among those who fell early. The highest score in nine innings since the Bangladesh tour, which she scored an undefeated 41 on her first visit, is still that of that position.
She was dismissed two nights ago against Pakistan, after the openers had hammered 85 in 9.3 overs, with a lofted smash to point for 14. It was a low-pressure chase. With the platform set, the openers here were up and away early; India reached fifty in five overs. However, India momentarily faltered following Hemalatha’s dismissal for 2 after being bowled while trying to take off Heena Hotchandani.
India had to rearrange Jemimah Rodrigues’ batting position because she has developed a reputation as a touch player, as a result of Hemalatha batting at No. 3. With their lower-order firepower at their disposal, Hemalatha’s lean run may eventually force the club management to reinstate Rodrigues at No. 3.
In her initial effort to knock over the top on Sunday, Rodrigues made just 14 of the 54 runs she shared with Harmanpreet before getting out at mid-off.
Harmanpreet was content to score singles and twos at the beginning, but she quickly picked up the pace when she was joined by legspinner Vaishnavee Mahesh for consecutive fours just beyond the midway point. When she tried to work a leading edge into the leg side on 31, she received a stroke of luck when it landed short of the backward point.
Also Read: India Dominates Pakistan with Comprehensive Win in Women’s Asia Cup 2024
Despite this, Harmanpreet appeared determined to see the entire innings through. She unleashed her arsenal of sweeps along the way, finding arcs on the leg-side boundary that varied from deep backward square to broad long-on.
The beauty of Harmanpeet’s sweeps is that, when she’s hitting well, she can eliminate the bowlers and pitch from the picture. This is mostly because to her enormous forward stride and her ability to consistently stay on front of the bounce.
Ghosh turned attention on the other end with some visually stunning cover drives and lofted shots with the spin. The idea that her game is solely about power is a little misleading. She demonstrated on Sunday that she is capable of hitting real shots and consistently identifying limits without trying to smack the ball.
After hitting a clean cover drive with her fourth delivery, she swiftly found her rhythm, hitting a six two balls later. She was especially harsh on Oza’s long, delicate hops; in the fifteenth, she whacked her for four boundaries, three of which were consecutive. After just 32 balls, Ghosh was the clear aggressor in the half-century stand. However, at 156 for 2 in 17 overs, 200 looked incredibly far away.
To give India their highest total in women’s T20Is, Harmanpreet had to tee off in the penultimate over, which brought India 17 runs, and Ghosh had to hit five consecutive boundaries off Heena Hotchandani’s left-arm spin in the last over, which brought India 20 runs. Out of her 64 runs, Ghosh scored 12 fours and one six.
UAE hardly attempted to reach the goal. Theertha Satish chipped Renuka Singh to mid-off in the fifth over, being the first to fall after needing nine balls to get off the mark. Six balls later, Pooja Vastrakar took her first wicket after hitting top of off against Rinitha Rajith.
Oza maintained her composure without seeming particularly impressive, although she did exhibit a change in strategy when she forced Deepti Sharma off the ground. She found some consolation in Kavisha Edodage, with whom she scored forty more runs before Oza became debutant Tanuja Kanwar’s first international wicket.
After a stellar WPL season for the Gujarat Giants, Kanwar, who has fought her way into the running, lulled her in midair and outran her to be stumped. Her final figures of 4-0-14-1 would complete an incredible debut that seemed unattainable just 48 hours prior. After that, the only thing left to study academically was whether UAE might reduce the margin of defeat.
