Renuka Singh ran through Barbados’ top order at an average pace by a haul of four wickets, while India beat its low-end opponents by 100 runs to qualify for the women’s T20 cricket semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday. Invited to bat, India put in a competitive 162 for 4 on the back of a nice unbeaten half-century from Jemimah Rodrigues (56 not from 46 balls) and a 26-ball 43 from opener Shafali Verma. The Indians then limited Barbados to 62 for 8 in 20 overs, with Renuka cheating the Barbados batters with an impressive spell.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh and Radha Yadav came in with one wicket each.
Kyshona Knight was the top scorer for Barbados with 16, while Shakera Selman made 12. Seven of their batters didn’t reach double digits.
Barbados were sacked for 64 in their nine-wicket defeat to Australia in an earlier match.
With the win, India finished second behind Australia (6 points from 3 matches) in Group A with four points from two wins. They had beaten Pakistan and lost to Australia in their previous matches.
The semifinals will be played on Saturday. Renuka struck in the third ball of the Barbados innings, meaning opener Deandra Dottin was eliminated for a duck. She then sent off captain Hayley Matthews (9), Kycia Knight (3) and Aaliyah Alleyne (0) in quick succession to bring Barbados down to 19 for 4 in nine overs.
During the Indian innings, opener Smriti Mandhana (5), who won half a century in India’s win over arch-rival Pakistan, fell cheaply, but Verma and Rodrigues snagged a 71-run second wicket tie to bolster the innings.
However, India was in trouble when captain Harmanpreet (0) left just three balls after Verma’s sacking. But a 70-run partnership between Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma (34 not out) for the unbroken fifth wicket brought India to a good total.
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For Barbados, Shanika Bruce, Hayley Matthews and Shakera Selman each took a wicket.
Short scores: India: 162 for 4 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 56 not out, Shafali Verma .43; Shanika Bruce 1/17) Barbados: 62 for 8 in 20 overs (Kyshona Knight 16; Renuka Singh 4/10).
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