BIRMINGHAM: Left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana shone with a blistering half-century before the bowlers held their nerves calm to hand India a thrilling victory over the hosts England in the first semi-final of Commonwealth Games 2022.

Following their victory over the tournament’s favourites England in the semi-final, India have confirmed at least a silver medal in the ongoing Games.

The Asian side will compete in the gold medal bout tomorrow and await either New Zealand or Australia in the final.

In the match, left-handed opener Mandhana led the way with a quickfire half-century while Jemimah Rodrigues chipped in with an unbeaten 44 to aid India to a competitive total of 164/5 in the allotted 20 overs.

Mandhana top-scored with 61 off 32 balls, laced with eight boundaries and three sixes, while Rodrigues scored 44 off 31 deliveries including seven boundaries.

For England, Freya Kemp was the pick amongst the bowlers as she claimed two wickets, while Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver made one scalp each.

Set to chase 165, the hosts of the Games England, fell just four runs short of the victory as they could score 160/6 in the allotted overs.

The hosts batters displayed a dismal start right from the start as the openers failed to provide a solid foundation, while the middle-order remained a touch too slow in the proceedings, costing England to keep their gold expedition alive.

English skipper Sciver top-scored for the side with 41, however, faced 43 deliveries in course of her defending knock. Wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones, on the other hand, followed back with 31 off 24 deliveries but remained unlucky as she lost her wicket in a run-out.

Sneh Rana shone with the ball for India, taking two wickets and bowling a brilliant final over, defending 14 runs, while Deepti Sharma struck out a batter.

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