India thrash Japan, register eight-wicket win to qualify for Asian Games semi-final

Indian women registered an eight-wicket win over Japan in the ongoing Asian Games. They arrived at the contest as the favourites and were too comfortable for the entire time and made it to the semi-finals without any hard yards. 

Batting first, Japan posted only 57 runs on the board. The openers showed some resistance before wickets fell like a house of cards. Ayaka Kato-Stafford finished as the leading run-scorer, with 25 runs to her name in 47 balls. Her partner Haruna Iwasaki contributed 10 from 22. The pair added 24 for the first wicket, but Japan’s innings lost momentum after their partnership ended. The hosts subsequently surrendered their final eight wickets for 33 runs.

India’s spin attack made conditions particularly challenging for the Japanese batters. Turn and bounce limited Japan's ability to play expansive strokes. Meanwhile for India, Shree Charani was the principal threat, recording 4 for 10 from her four overs. She struck back-to-back in the seventh over, dismissing Iwasaki and Mai Yanagida. She was close to pulling off a hat-trick, but was unable to do



so.

On the other hand, Shafali Verma returned figures of 2 for 13, while Deepti Sharma took 1 for 14. Shreyanka Patil, playing international cricket again after a three-month absence caused by an ankle ligament injury sustained at the T20 World Cup in June, claimed 1 for 8 in 3.5 overs. Her dismissal of Nonoha Yasumoto ended Japan’s innings.

India needed little time to erase the deficit. Shafali started the chase with a bluster of boundaries, having hit four of them in the first over of the innings. She set the tone, but Japan managed to pull the brakes. They struck in the second over as Yasumoto removed G Kamalini, who replaced Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order. Bharti Fulmali, who was promoted to number three, failed to impress as well, scoring six runs. Meanwhile, Yasumoto bowled a wicket-maiden over, which is incredible, to say the least. 

Shafali remained unbeaten on 40 from 15 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 266.66. She ended the match with a six over long-on. India will now meet Bangladesh in the semi-final on September 20.