MANCHESTER, June 25 (ANI) — A half-century from Shafali Verma and disciplined bowling spells from Radha Yadav and Shree Charani helped India defeat Bangladesh by five wickets in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup group-stage match on Thursday, keeping their semifinal hopes alive.
With this win, India moved to second place in Group A with three wins and one loss, collecting six points, behind Australia, who have won all four matches. India still have one group match remaining against Australia and are not yet assured of a semifinal berth, while South Africa remain strong contenders with two wins from three games.
Bangladesh, opting to bat first, posted 136/8 in 20 overs. Juairiya Ferdous (33 off 31 balls) and Sobhana Mostary (22 off 26 balls) shared a steady 50-run partnership for the second wicket, while captain Nigar Sultana added 32 off 27 deliveries to take the team to a modest total.
Radha Yadav (3/28) and Shree Charani (2/21) led India’s bowling effort, with Renuka Thakur and Nandni Sharma also picking up a wicket each.
In the chase, India lost Smriti Mandhana early for 8 runs, but Shafali Verma (53 off 34 balls) and Yastika Bhatia (23 off 18 balls) added a 45-run stand for the second wicket.
India suffered a brief middle-order collapse, slipping from 76/2 to 98/4, before Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls), captain Harmanpreet Kaur (13*), and Deepti Sharma (5*) guided the team to victory with 19 balls remaining.
Shafali’s innings included eight fours and a six, providing momentum at the top of the chase.
Charani also created history during the match, surpassing Poonam Yadav’s record for most wickets by an Indian in a single ICC Women’s T20 World Cup edition. The left-arm spinner, currently the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, claimed 2/21 against Bangladesh, dismissing Nahida Akter and Shorna Akter.
In four matches, Charani has taken 12 wickets at an average of 7.08 and an economy rate of 5.31, with best figures of 4/19, making her the standout bowler of the tournament so far.
New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr holds the overall record for most wickets in a single Women’s T20 World Cup edition with 15 wickets. (ANI)
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