With a five-wicket victory against Bangladesh that appeared far better on the scorecard than on the pitch, a far from clinical India kept their semi-final qualification on track. To limit Bangladesh to a below-average 136 for 8 on a flat Old Trafford strip, India dropped three catches early on, misfielded a few times, profited from multiple lives while batting, and managed to seal the modest chase after pulling things back with the ball in the last overs.
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| Shafali Verma left for a flight |
Although they lost more wickets than they would have preferred, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur completed the chase with 19 balls remaining after Shafali Verma led the charge with her second T20 World Cup half-century in three innings. India sits two points ahead of South Africa and Bangladesh in second place in Group 1, but their biggest game of the T20 World Cup is against Australia on Sunday, with a knockout spot on the line. With their final game against South Africa on Sunday at Lord's, Bangladesh's hopes were drastically reduced, but they are still in the running.
In four balls, India drops three catches
Under the scorching sun, India had a terrible start, and Bangladesh made them pay in the powerplay. Juairiya Ferdous hit the fast straight back for four in the fourth over shortly after Renuka Singh, who replaced Arundhati Reddy, had Dilara Akter caught at deep square leg. After Ferdous hoisted Renuka to deep midwicket three balls later, Radha Yadav, who had also dropped Marizanne Kapp twice in India's previous match, put down a simple chance, and the ball went through for four.
Nandani Sharma missed opportunities off Ferdous and Sobhana Mostary three balls into the subsequent over. Before Nandani was shifted to short third man in the first one, Mostary drove the ball uppishly on 1 at cover. But the ball followed Nandani when Ferdous skied one off a sweep, and she dove to her left, grabbed both hands, and then put it down again.
Mostary beat the point for four more after Ferdous middled the subsequent ball for a four on the leg side, increasing the run rate to 6.40 and making it 10 off the over.
India ultimately retaliates
Aside from the catching, India's lines and lengths were not quite correct. Mostary also advanced quickly, and the big-hitting Ferdous found the ropes against Shafali and Nandani. Nandani finally managed to hold onto the fastest catch of the day, snatching a return opportunity from Ferdous on 33, just as the second-wicket stand had crossed 50.
Soon after, Deepti Sharma made a simple catch at mid-off to dismiss her. Before Nigar Sultana made sure Bangladesh's scoring rate didn't decline following the wickets, Mostary was back for 22. Finding the gaps off Nandani, she bookended the 14th over with a 17-run over that gave her team another boost.
Bangladesh was on the verge of surpassing 140, but India's spinners pulled them back with a team effort. Radha, in the XI for Prema Rawat, and Shree Charani orchestrated a Bangladeshi collapse of 5 for 28 in the final four overs while Deepti dried up the runs.
In the powerplay, Shafali gives India 63
At the beginning of the chase, Bangladesh also emerged with gifts for India. In the first over, Sultana dropped Shafali on four. Later, he lost four off Smriti Mandhana's under edge, both off Marufa Akter. However, Bangladesh's catching wasn't as slow as India's. At the end of the third over, Rabeya Khan broke the opening stand of 31 with a forward dive at cover off Mandhana.
Up until that point, Shafali had taken the majority of the blow and had begun perfecting her 'V' swings. To give India a great start, she hit a six over long-on and then drove over the covers to mid-off in the second over. Shafali continued to blast the cover borders with her powerful bottom hand, making it difficult for Bangladesh to contain her. In contrast to Bangladesh's five fours in their first six, Shafali had struck seven fours and a six by the time she lofted Sanjida Akter over mid-off for consecutive fours, ending the powerplay with 63 on the board.
India stumbles to triumph
India would have wanted to cross the finish line with conviction shortly after Shafali reached a 29-ball fifty by hitting Rabeya for four. However, for the fourth consecutive game, their batting worries followed them. In an attempt to increase the NRR, India promoted Richa Ghosh over Jemimah Rodrigues when Shafali was stumped for 53 after she believed she had edged the ball past the keeper. Before India could reach 100, Ghosh and Yastika Bhatia were dismissed in consecutive overs, despite Ghosh's early two boundaries.
As the boundaries dried up and Harmanpreet and Rodrigues provided run-out opportunities that Bangladesh was unable to take advantage of, 98 for 4 might have easily turned into 103 for 5 or perhaps 104 for 5. Rodrigues almost faced her partner at the keeper's end in the first one, which was almost a gift. However, Nahida Akter was unable to catch the throw from short fine leg, and Rodrigues made it back with a dive.
Harmanpreet would have been well short of her ground at the bowler's end four balls later, but Shorna Akter missed the direct hit this time. Sensing some nervousness, Rodrigues brought India within nine runs of victory by scoring 20 runs off the next five balls she faced, including three fours and a six. But before Harmanpreet and Deepti concluded the match in the 17th over, Rodrigues was unable to keep the team going when she skied a catch to short third man.
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