CWG 2022, India vs Barbados, Top Performances: Shafali Verma’s 43, Renuka Singh’s 4-10 and Jemimah Rodrigues’ 56* are top performances. India Women beat Barbados Women and fix semi-final berth in CWG 2022.
Brief Scores: IND-W 162/4 (Rodrigues 56*, Shafali 43, Deepti 34*, Bruce 1-17) beat BRB-W 62/8 (Knight 16, Renuka 4/10, Sneh Rana 1-6) by 100 runs
India, after a loss in their thrilling encounter against Australia, bounced back in style with a comprehensive victory over arch-rivals Pakistan. They took on Barbados in the 10th game of the Commonwealth Games Women’s Cricket Competition 2022 at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday.
The winner of the game would go on to join Australia, England and New Zealand for the medal events of the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Barbados captain Hayley Matthews, on winning the toss, opted to field first. India made two changes – wicketkeeper batter Taniya Bhatia replaced Yastika Bhatia, while Pooja Vastrakar returned in place of Sabbhineni Meghana. For Barbados, Keila Eliott made way for Shaunte Carrington.
Clinical India win by 100 runs; book semi-final berth
Put in to bat first, India, recovering from their early blow in the form of Smriti Mandhana in the second over, reached 50/1 in the powerplay. They lost the momentum from the eighth over to the 13th over, scoring just 29 runs for the loss of 3 huge wickets. Jemimah Rodrigues played solidly and scored a half-century and the unbeaten 70-run partnership between her and Deepti Sharma in 42 deliveries provided India the final push.
Barbados were found guilty of not bowling their overs in time for the second time in three games in this tournament, as India fired to 162/4 in their allotted 20 overs. This is now India women’s highest T20I total in England.
Chasing 163 for a semi-final place, Barbados were never in the chase being restricted to 20/4 inside the powerplay thanks to another breathtaking spell of 4/10 by Renuka Singh Thakur. They could reach 34/5 at the halfway mark. India’s bowlers kept the pressure on till the last ball as Barbados could only muster 62/8 in their allotted overs. As a result, India moved to the semi-final stage with a 100-run victory. It is only the second time that India have won a women’s T20I match by 100 or more runs.
Let’s scan the top performances from the game between India Women and Barbados Women at Edgbaston, CWG 2022.
Shafali Verma offered India a quickfire start with 43
India lost their in-form opener, Smriti Mandhana for just 5 on the eighth ball of the game and Jemimah Rodrigues, after a few shots early on in her innings, was struggling to score.
The 18-year-old opener, Shafali Verma took on the inexperienced Barbados bowlers and attacked them as she cut Shamilia Connell for her first boundary of the game. She displayed aggressive batting against Shanika Bruce with three boundaries in just four balls; one went over extra cover and another one was powered down the ground.
With Rodrigues finding it tough to collect those boundaries, Verma kept the onslaught going with two more cracking boundaries against Aaliyah Alleyne before nailing Connell for a massive six over the deep mid-wicket fence. With 36 sixes, Shafali Verma at the age of 18 or below, has the highest number sixes in women’s cricket with Deandra Dottin being second in the list with just 17 maximums.
Verma now has 860 WT20I runs in 34 games at a strike rate of 141.21. The India opener got two more boundaries before getting out courtesy a suicidal run out on 43 in just 26 balls. Her innings was coloured with seven boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 165.28 and propelled India to 76/2 in nine overs.
Read More: CWG 2022, IND-W vs PAK-W: Rana’s 2-15, Renuka’s 1-20, Smiriti’s 63* help India demolish Pakistan
Renuka Singh Thakur destroyed Barbados batters with 4-10
If the Commonwealth Games 2022 has a dream in store for someone with ball in hand, then it has to be the 26-year-old Shimla girl Renuka Singh Thakur, who began the tournament with a sensational spell of 4/18 against Australia.
Defending 162 against Barbados, India required to dismiss two great batters – Deandra Dottin, who recently retired from the West Indies team, and Hayley Matthews – early on to put the opponents under pressure and Thakur did more than what was expected of her.
The medium-fast bowler sent back Dottin for a three-ball duck, thanks to an in-swinging delivery that came back sharply to disturb the stumps of Dottin, who stepped out of her crease to go for a big shot. In Renuka’s next over, she got rid of the big fish, Matthews on 9 with a length ball that the batter misjudged to hit it straight into the hands of the mid-on fielder.
In her third over, Renuka first broke the furniture of Kycia Knight with a straight ball, before dismissing Aaliyah Alleyne in the same fashion; Alleyne shouldered her arms as the in-swinging delivery took off her stumps.
Renuka Singh, who returned with figures of 4/10 in her four overs, becomes the first pacer from a full member nation to take multiple 4+ wicket hauls in a Women’s T20I series.
Read More: CWG 2022, IND-W vs AUS-W: Gardner’s 52* takes Aus home; Renuka’s stunning 4-18 goes in vain
Jemimah Rodrigues sheet anchor knock helped India in crunch situation
India lost Smriti Mandhana early in the innings, as Jemimah Rodrigues joined Shafali Verma in the second over. She began positively with two boundaries; one was of pure class being driven through the gap between cover and extra cover while the second was smashed hard off the backfoot.
But Rodrigues lost her way in the middle when Shafali Verma was taking on the bowlers in the powerplay. When India lost Verma on 43, Jemimah was on 17 in 21 balls as India lost a few quick wickets being reduced to 92/4 in 13 overs; Rodrigues was still out in the middle on 27 in 31 balls.
Rodrigues partnered Deepti Sharma for a bright 70-run stand in 42 balls. The Mumbai batter who was dropped from India’s ICC World Cup 2022 squad, with a single reached her seventh WT20I fifty in 56 games; it was her first half-century in 21 innings.
The 21-year-old batter who now has 1196 runs in 56 games, finished with an unbeaten 56 in 46 balls that consisted of six boundaries and one maximum. India reached 162/4 because of the sheet anchor knock Rodrigues played even in a crunch situation.
What’s to Come
India will now play the semi-final of the Commonwealth Games Women’s Cricket Competition 2022 at Edgbaston in Birmingham on August 6.
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