ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, IND vs IRE: Rain interruption helps India secure semis berth; fans glad
ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023: India piped Ireland by five runs, thanks to the D/L method due to rain interruption. Fans are glad as the Women in Blue have secured their place in the semis.
FollowTeam India is through to the semis of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup after eclipsing Ireland by five runs via the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method in a rain-interrupted Group B tie at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Monday. While the Women in Blue look set to finish second in the group table, they can still propel themselves to the top if England suffers a significant loss to Pakistan on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Indian fans were gladdened by their side's progress into the semis.
Winning the toss, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bat, as the openers Shafali Verma (24) and Smriti Mandhana (87) gave a top start, setting up a 62-run stand before the former fell in the tenth. It was followed by a 52-run partnership between Mandhana and Kaur (13), while the former struck her 22nd Twenty20 International (T20I) half-century before the latter fell in the 16th.
Thereon, the Indians struggled to get a decent partnership, as they could manage 155/6. Medium-pacer Orla Prendergast got a couple for the Irish, besides being the most economical for her side. In reply, Ireland was off to a disastrous start, losing its opening couple of wickets for a run on the board within the first over.
In the meantime, opener Gaby Lewis (32*) and skipper Laura Delany (17*) tailored an unbeaten 53-run stand for the third wicket before the rain played spoilsport to the Irish chase and never resumed thereon. Ireland was five runs behind, and India ran away with a win by that margin, sealing its semis place.
