Women’s Asia Cup 2024, IND-W vs NEP-W 10th Match, Group A Match Report, July 23, 2024

India 178 for 3 (Shafali 81, Hemalatha 47, Magar 2-25) beat Nepal 96 for 9 (Deepti 3-13, Radha 2-12, Reddy 2-28) by 82 runs

Shafali blazes away but Hemalatha scratchy

There was a change at the top of the order with India promoting Hemalatha to open with Shafali. The openers took their time to assess the conditions where several loose deliveries went unpunished early on. But soon enough, Shafali found her feet and accelerated. The same cannot be said of her opening partner on the day.

Shafali, on the other hand, also benefited from the Nepal bowlers, who initially struggled to find the right line and length. She used her feet and wrist well to flick, hit straight drives down the ground, slog sweep to deep midwicket and overall, played with good intent. India finished the powerplay on 50 for 0 and Shafali brought her tenth T20I fifty in the eighth over, off just 26 balls. At the halfway stage, India were 91 for 0 and looked set to breach the 200-run mark again.

India finish strong despite a brief stutter

Reddy grabs her opportunity

Injury to Titas Sadhu opened the door for Reddy to be back with the Indian squad following her impressive performances in domestic cricket and the WPL. In the limited opportunities she has got since her comeback against South Africa last month, Reddy has stepped up to the challenge, to be India’s backup fast bowler. Against Nepal, she picked up 2 for 28 in her four overs. Having worked on her variations and the ability to swing the ball both ways in the last 12 to 15 months, Reddy struck on her fourth delivery, bowling opener Samjhana Khadka early. She went for 11 runs in her second but fought back to dismiss Magar for a 22-ball 18 with a delivery that seamed back in to hit the middle stump.