Women’s Asia Cup: Shafali Verma shines, on a night of experiments India still too good for Nepal

On a night of few experiments, India were still too good for Nepal as they finished the group stage of Women’s Asia Cup with a perfect record. Opting to bat first, and employing a changed batting line-up, India posted 178/3, led by Shafali Verma’s T20I best score of 81. Nepal managed to play out the 20 overs in the run-chase, finishing on 96/9.

The first of many changes for India was Smriti Mandhana walking out for the toss. Harmanpreet Kaur, who didn’t field for a half of India’s defence against UAE but insisted she is fine after the match, was evidently rested. Her Mumbai Indians teammate Sajana Sajeevan got a game, as did Arundhati Reddy, who replaced Pooja Vastrakar, who has been playing non-stop in recent weeks.

Another experiment came right away after Mandhana won the toss, as she didn’t walk out for the rest of the Indian innings. It was Hemalatha Dayalan who got the nod to open the batting, alongside Shafali. The jury will be out on whether the experiment worked. On the one hand, Hemalatha got some time out in the middle, staying till the 14th over. It wasn’t always the easiest pitch to bat on, the weariness resulting in slowness and lowness.

𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨!#TeamIndia continue their winning run in #WomensAsiaCup2024 👏👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/PeRykFLdTV#ACC | #INDvNEP pic.twitter.com/8Eg77qAJOt

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 23, 2024

But, having said that, a 42-ball innings that resulted in 47 runs doesn’t do her a lot of good, especially if India continue to back her at No 3 against tougher opponents. She had shown sparks of good intent recently against Bangladesh. But presuming Yastika Bhatia returns to the scheme of things at some point, and the value Jemimah Rodrigues could bring in at one-down, the pressure is bound to remain on Hemalatha.

There were no such worries for Shafali though, who breezed to yet another career-best knock in quick time. Not long after her double century in the Test against South Africa in Chennai, Shafali employed much of the same tactics to punish the Nepal bowlers. She avoided going for cross-batted shots, targeted mainly the ‘V’ region from extra-cover to midwicket, and used the forearm power to good effect. Nepal’s poor catching did help her along the way, but to Shafali’s credit, she is starting to show the application to play longer knocks and that augurs well for India.

For her opening brilliance of 81 off just 48 deliveries, @TheShafaliVerma becomes the Player of the Match 👏👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/PeRykFLdTV#Teamindia | #WomensAsiaCup2024 | #ACC | #INDvNEP pic.twitter.com/vrXz9Mhoar

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 23, 2024

“I tried to back my strengths and I was able to execute it, so that was nice,” Shafali, the player of the match, said. “Yes, the consistency is coming in but I still would like to finish my innings better. Of course, the 200 in the Test gave me a lot of confidence. It is a big achievement for a batter, and it gave me a lot of confidence that I hope to take forward.”

Rodrigues gave India a little bit of push in the end to take them close to 180 even though it felt at half-way stage that Nepal had done well to prevent the tournament favourites from reaching 200 in back-to-back matches. But the target was always going to be tough for an inexperienced Nepal side, with Deepti Sharma once again leading the way for India. The off-spinner added a three-fer to her name to go along with a direct hit for run out. Arundhati too bowled impressive line and lengths to pick up a couple of wickets and keep her name in the mix for a more consistent spot in the first XI.

“Really happy with the way Shafali batted,” Mandhana said after the match. “We finished off really well. Not a lot of pre-decision (in making the changes). The wind is different to what we have back home, so we just want the middle-order to get some time in the middle.”

India’s semifinal opponents are yet to be officially confirmed but having topped the group comfortably, they are likely to face Bangladesh, barring any major upset on Wednesday. Pakistan, who have found some momentum after a heavy defeat against India, have finished second in the group and will likely take on Sri Lanka in the other semifinals.

Brief scores: India 178/3 in 20 ovs (Shafali 81, Hemalatha 47, Magar 2/25) bt Nepal 96/9 in 20 ovs (Deepti 3/13, Radha 2/12, Reddy 2/28) by 82 runs.

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