The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
Join us again tomorrow as we bring you the action just as it unfolds in Dambulla. For now, It is time for the duo of Darpan and Pradeep to sign off! Ciao!
With that the Group A fixtures come to fruition. India and Pakistan go ahead. Their semifinals opponents would be decided by the result of the two Group B matches to be played tomorrow. In all likelihood, it is going to be India vs Bangladesh and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka. However, nothing is set in stone.
Smriti Mandhana (India Captain): As an opener, you don't have a lot of games where you don't get to bat. Shafali batted well and we finished well too. In the last series also, the middle order did not get much time to bat. It is good to have some game time in the middle. Not only this tournament, every series we have played in the last 5-6 months, we have been preparing and fine-tuning with the World Cup in mind. You can't go into the World Cup being under prepared. Nepal played with a smile on the face which was great to see. Hopefully, they keep on improving and we get to play them more regularly. No team can be taken lightly. We have a couple of days before the semifinal For us, nothing changes. We would have a bit of rest and then start preparing for it.
Shafali Verma is the Player of the Match! Here's what she has to say: I backed my strengths, it worked out well today and really happy. Consistency is coming up, I am working on finishing well too. Saw the fielder and tried to hit down the ground. 200 runs is a big deal for a batter, I wasn't in good form and that helped boost my confidence.
Indu Barma (Nepal captain): I'm proud of my team, we put in a good team effort but we are going to analyse our weakness, will come back stronger next time. We respect our opponents, we've got a good exposure playing a team like India. I'm happy with my team, after 10th over, we picked up some momentum as far as the bowling is concerned. I got lots of experience, even my teammates, playing against India and Pakistan.
Hang around, the post match presentation is coming up.
India win by 82 runs.
Shafali Varma 81 (48) | Deepti Sharma 3/13 Sita Rana Magar 18 (22) & 2/25
A comprehensive victory for India! And in all fairness, nothing less was expected. With this they finish at the top of the points table having steamrolled every opponent who stood in their way. Today, though, they were in a mood to experiment. The skipper was rested and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana did not come out to bat at her usual spot as the opener. Instead, other players were given an opportunity to have a hit in the middle.
However, every body was overshadowed by the onslaught that Shafali Varma put on display. The pocket dynamite smashed a dozen fours and a six on her way to an enthralling 81. Dayalan Hemalatha too got a 47 to her name. Though her start stop innings paled in comparison to that of her opening partner.
Jemimah Rodrigues then scored a quick 28 off just 15 balls to take India to a good score. The shining light for Nepal was Sita Rana Magar who picked up 2/25 in her 4 overs. She also came out to open the innings and while she was out there, it seemed as if Nepal might put on a respectable total in response. Albeit, they never looked like getting close to the target.
The bowlers did their job with Deepti Sharma - for the umpteenth time - being the most impressive one. Coming back into the XI, Arundhati Reddy had a good came too as she finished with 2/28.
With that Nepal's journey in this tournament comes to an end. They added a nice flavour to the Asia Cup and take away some happy memories along with a lot of lessons that will help them become a better team.
20
overs
96/9score
0
W
0
1
0
2
runs
Bindu Rawal*
17(19)
Sabnam Rai
1(2)
Deepti Sharma
3/13
19.6 Deepti Sharma to Bindu Rawal, DEEPTI WITH A DIRECT-HIT! Has Rai made it back in time? Umpire has gone up again. Deepti collects the throw, one stump to aim and hits the bulls-eye, but Rai with a dive to get her bat to slide in and that's NOT OUT! Short outside the off-stump. Rawal pulled that one over mid-wicket, calls her partner for the second and Rai almost ran herself out. India through to the semi-finals with that along with Pakistan from Group A!
19.5 Deepti Sharma to Bindu Rawal, angled the length delivery on the stumps. Rawal leans and knocked it back to the bowler.