India on Track to 2023 World Cup Semi Finals
India won their match against Ireland by five runs per the DSL method and are a step closer to the semi-finals. Before India, Australia won their clash against South Africa by six wickets and became the first semi-finalist of the tournament.
Following their loss against England on February 18, India made a strong comeback in their game against Ireland.
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✅ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯Three back-to-back semi-finals for India at the #T20WorldCup 👏 pic.twitter.com/FZAxHG2kLU
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 20, 2023
What Happened at the Match
The match was at St. George’s Oval in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
India won the toss and chose to bat. They started strong thanks to a combined score of 101 runs by openers Shafali Verma(24) and Smriti Mandhana(87).
Walking in at No.3, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur completed 3000 runs in T20Is, becoming the fourth women’s cricketer to reach the milestone in this cricket format. Kaur ended up dismissed by Orla Prendergast in the 16th over at 13 runs.
Among the batters, Mandhana’s 87-run score was the main contribution to India’s total of 155/6 in 20 overs.
Chasing a target of 156 runs, Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany had built a steady partnership of 53 runs. Aside from the duo, Laura Delany scored 17 off 20 deliveries. Unfortunately, rainy weather put a damper on the game. In the end, Ireland only reached 54 for two in 8.2 overs.
Statements After the Match
After the match, India’s players had plenty of comments regarding their performance. When talking about her batting performance in the game, Smriti Mandhana described it as one of her toughest innings due to the difficult conditions at St George’s Park.
“We were telling each other (with opening partner Shafali Verma) to try and maintain our shape. I was batting bad, and she was not timing it well,” said Mandhana, who was named the player of the match for her 56-ball knock.
Team captain Harmanpreet Kaur also had several comments on India’s performance in the game. She remarked that the World Cup is where both teams are constantly under pressure. She also stated how a score of 150 on the board would always give a team an upper hand and how India was just “going [out] there and understanding what conditions are there and just playing according to the situation.”
On Ireland’s side, captain Laura Delany expressed disappointment in how the match ended, stating, “(Making to semis) Means a lot, we are working a lot and wanted to do well whenever we get the opportunities. Good to get into the semis, and we will give our 100%. We always enjoy our match against them (Australia in the semifinal). It will be a do or die, and we want to play good cricket.”
Currently, India has won three out of four matches and placed 2nd in the Group 2 standings. Meanwhile, Ireland has not won any match and sits last in the group standings.
There are two more matches before the semi-finalists are confirmed for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The next World Cup match is between England and Pakistan, while the final group stage match is between South Africa and Bangladesh. They will be on February 21 and 22, respectively.