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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.
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.
With the foundation established, the openers were up and running, as 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.
With their lower-order firepower at their disposal, Hemalatha’s lean run may eventually force the team 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 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.
With his visually stunning cover drives and lofted strokes with the spin, Ghosh turned heads. The idea that her game is solely about power is a little misleading.
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. 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 that, the only thing left to study academically was whether UAE might reduce the margin of defeat.