MATCH RECAP
Follow UsA mammoth opening partnership
Nepali bowlers failed to penetrate the defence of the Indian openers, and Shafali Verma (81 off 47) made great use of the scoring opportunities to keep the run rate high in Dambulla despite Dayalan Hemalatha’s scratchy batting at the other end.
Sajana fails to impress
Hemalatha opened the innings and scored 47 off 42 balls; however, her innings lacked fluency. Sajana, who could be seen as a potential replacement for her as a hitter at number 3, also failed to impress and could only score 10 off 12 deliveries with just one boundary.
Jemimah the finisher
Jemimah Rodrigues (28* off 15) is new at number five for the Indian T20I side, but she has taken to the position like fish to water. She scored five boundaries in her 28, and how she manoeuvred the field stood out in the 15 deliveries she faced. Late impetus from her allowed India to reach 178/3 in their 20 overs.
No fight from Nepal’s batting
Sita Magar (18 off 22), skipper Indu Barma (14 off 18), and Rubina Chhetry (15 off 16) tried their best against India bowlers. Still, the likes of Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav and Deepti Sharma kept chipping in with wickets, and their innings never got going.
Accurate Arundhati and Deepti reap rewards
Arundhati Reddy (2/28) and Deepti Sharma (3/13) were the best Indian bowlers on display, and Reddy especially targeted the stumps and was hard to line up for the Nepali batters. They both, along with the other Indian bowlers, restricted Nepal to 96/9 in 20 overs.
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