Asian Games: India Women Beat Japan by 8 Wickets

Asian Games: India Women are through to the semifinals of the Asian Games cricket tournament after beating Japan by eight wickets in the quarterfinal. The Indian side made quick work of the chase and finished the match inside five overs.

Japan were put in to bat first and never really got going. Indian bowlers kept picking up wickets and restricted the hosts to 57 runs. Shree Charani led the attack with four wickets, while Shafali Verma took two. Shreyanka Patil and Deepti Sharma added one wicket each.

Ayaka Kato Stafford was Japan’s top scorer with 25 runs. However, she found little support from the other end as the Japanese batting order lost wickets regularly. With only 58 runs to defend, Japan needed an early breakthrough.

India did lose two wickets during the chase, but the target was far too small to create much pressure. Shafali Verma came out attacking and finished unbeaten on 40 from just 15 balls. She hit six fours and two sixes during her short stay at the crease.

Richa Ghosh then helped finish the job, scoring an unbeaten 12 from six deliveries. Her innings included two fours. India reached 59 for two in five overs to seal the quarterfinal comfortably.

The win puts India into the women’s cricket semifinals at the Asian Games. India are also the defending champions, having won the gold medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

India’s semifinal will be against Bangladesh on Sunday, September 20. The match is scheduled to take place at Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin.

Sri Lanka have also reached the last four after defeating Malaysia in another quarterfinal. Sri Lanka scored 160 for four before bowling Malaysia out for 74. Chamari Athapaththu made 63 from 37 balls, while Kavisha Dilhari remained unbeaten on 44.

Sri Lanka will meet Pakistan in the other semifinal. For India, the focus now shifts to Bangladesh and a place in the Asian Games cricket final.