India ease past Thailand to secure final berth

India defeated Thailand by 74 runs in the first semifinal of the 2022 Women's Asia Cup, led by Shafali Verma's scorching 42 and backed up by a disciplined, team bowling performance.

Despite losing Smriti Mandhana early in the innings, India established their control. Shafali, who looked in good form, hammered five boundaries and a six in her 28-ball stay. Jemimah Rodrigues battled early on a shaky pitch, but settled down later in the game. Thailand's bowlers kept the scoring rate low in the last overs, but Harmanpreet Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar's efforts enabled India reach 148 for 6.

Thailand, on the other hand, never looked the part. Deepti Sharma's triple strike set them back early, and they were reduced to 18 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. A 42-run fifth-wicket partnership between Naruemol Chaiwai and Nattaya Boochatham aided Thailand's recovery, but Sneh Rana trapped the latter legbefore and precipitated a collapse. Thailand were finally held to 74 for 9 as Renuka Singh and Shafai Verma each took a wicket.

Brief Scores: India 148/6 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 42, Harmanpreet Kaur 36; Sornnarin Tippoch 3-24) beat Thailand 74/9 in 20 overs (Nattaya Boochatham 21, Naruemol Chaiwai; Deepti Sharma 3-7, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-10) by 74 runs