Heavy wind and rain played spoilsport in India's must-win clash against Ireland in women's T20 World Cup 2023 at St George's Park, Gqeberha. The on-field umpires called for covers in the ninth over of Ireland's run chase.
At the time of the halt, India were ahead of Ireland. The DLS par score after 8.2 overs was 59. Ireland were 54/2 when opener Gaby Lewis and skipper Laura Delany had to leave the field. If rain does not stop before the cut-off time (10:10 PM IST), India will win the encounter and cement their spot in the semi-final.
In the run chase, Ireland lost their opener Amy Hunter early as she got run out in an attempt to take a second run. In-form Renuka Singh then continued her stupendous form and got Orla Prendergast bowled for a four-ball duck on the fifth ball of her first over.
Lewis and Delany steadied the ship. While Delany played the anchor role with 17 runs from 20 deliveries, Lewis scored five boundaries in her unbeaten 25-ball 32.
Earlier, Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first in her record 150th T20I appearance. On a pitch where most batters struggled with pacer, Smriti Mandhana dominated the proceedings. Opener Shafali Verma could not cope with the dot ball pressure and played a loose shot to get out in the 10th over. Shafali scored 24 runs from 29 deliveries.
Harmanpreet promoted herself up the order to accelerate but failed to execute the plan. She managed to score just 13 runs from 20 deliveries while Mandhana did the bulk of scoring. In-form Richa Ghosh became Delany's third victim of the day. Richa got dismissed for a golden duck.
Mandhana continued her onslaught and hit nine fours and three sixes in her 87-run knock. She was dismissed bby Orla in the penultimate over. Deepti Sharma took the aerial route and became the second batter to get out for a golden duck in the innings. Rodrigues played a crucial cameo of 12-ball 19 to help India post 155/6.
ALSO READ:
West Indies' Rashada Williams punished by ICC for pushing Ireland player after getting run out
