DAMBULLA: Pakistan women’s team on Tuesday, qualified for the ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2024 semi-final, courtesy of India’s statement 82-run victory over Nepal.
Pakistan were second in the Group A standings of the eight-team tournament following their 10-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier today.
The Green Shirts had put one foot in the semi-finals with a thumping victory and wanted Nepal to lose their final group-stage fixture against former champions India.
However, even if Nepal had managed to beat India, they needed to win the match by a hefty margin to topple Pakistan’s net run rate but that was not the case in the end.
Opting to bat first, India registered a massive total of 178/3 with opening batter Shafali Verma leading the charge with a quickfire half-century.
Verma top-scored for India with a 48-ball 81 which featured 12 fours and a six.
She was also involved in a magnificent 122-run opening partnership with Dayalan Hemalatha, who contributed significantly with a 42-ball 47.
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Sita Rana Magar was the pick of the bowlers for Nepal, picking up two wickets for just 25 runs in her four overs.
In response, Nepal’s batting unit struggled against a Deepti Sharma-led India bowling attack and were restricted to 96/9 in the allotted overs.
Opening batter Sita Rana Magar remained the top-scorer for Nepal with a 22-ball 18, followed by Bindu Rawal (17), Rubina Chhetry (15) and Indu Barma (14) while the rest failed to make it into the double figures.
Deepti Sharma returned magnificent figures of 3/13 in her four overs while Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav chipped in with two wickets apiece.
Former champions India topped the Group A standing of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 with six points in three matches, followed by Pakistan with four points in three matches.
India will face the second-placed side of Group B in the first semi-final while Pakistan will take on the group topper of the other group in the second semi-final.
Both knockout matches will be played here on Friday, June 26 while the final is scheduled for Sunday.
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