INDIA KEEP SEMI-FINAL HOPES ALIVE WITH 110 RUN WIN

(The Quiver): Mithali Raj-led India crushed Bangladesh by 110 runs in their sixth match of the ongoing ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2022 on Tuesday to keep their semi-final hopes alive. After a disappointing defeat against Australia in their last game, India bounced back to winning ways with a comprehensive display against Bangladesh at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.

While top-order batter Yastika Bhatia shone with the willow with an 80-ball 50, Sneh Rana continued her impressive run with the ball for the Women in Blue. Rana picked up a four-wicket haul to run through the Bangladesh batting line-up and set up a comfortable win for India in Hamilton.India were in a must-win situation heading into the clash and needed to win by a big margin to ensure their semi-final chances remained intact. Captain Mithali Raj opted to bat first in Hamilton and the Indian openers didn’t disappoint as Smriti Mandhana (30) and Shafali Verma (42) posted a 74-run stand for the first wicket.

Bhatia came out to bat at number three after Mandhana’s dismissal and soon found India in a bit of trouble as the Women in Blue lost the wickets of Verma and Mithali in quick succession. The Indian skipper was sent packing on a duck by Ritu Moni leaving India in a spot of bother on 74/3.

However, Bhatia combined with Harmanpreet Kaur (14) to add 34 runs for the 4th wicket before combining with wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (26) to post another stand of 54 runs for the fifth wicket. Cameos from Pooja Vastrakar, who scored 30 off 33 balls and Rana (27 off 23) helped India post a fighting total of 229 runs on the board.

Rana and Vastrakar were both excellent with the ball as well as the duo picked up six wickets between them during Bangladesh’s run chase. Salma Khatun top-scored for Bangladesh with 32 off 35 balls but the rest failed to get going as the Nigar Sultana-led side was bundled out for a paltry 119 runs by Indian bowlers.

With the win, India have moved to the third spot on the points table with six points from six matches so far and need to win their final league game against South Africa to qualify for the semi-finals.