India, as expected, dismissed Ireland by 52 runs and by doing so, qualified for the Semi-Finals for the first time since 2010.
After being put on to bat first because of the conditions, where there was a slight drizzle before the start of the match. Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana provided a rather decent start, added 67 for the first wicket and Smriti was the first one to go after trying to hit hard on the on-side. India though had scattered partnerships, there wasn’t a big one and once again it was Mithali’s anchor role while score yet another fifty took India to 145 in their 20 overs. From the bowling point of view, Ireland really did an excellent job in restricting India. Grath, who picked up two wickets was the pick of the bowlers.
In return, Ireland had no answers to the Indian bowlers. Mansi Joshi who got her first game in place of Arundati Reddy bowled well but went wicketless. Deepti Sharma grabbed two while Radha Yadav three and Poonam, Kaur picked one apiece. For Ireland, Shillington scored 23 and Isobel Joyce 33 as the team ended with 93/8 in their 20 overs.
