Match 10 of cricket at the Commonwealth Games saw India and Barbados take field for their final league stage game. The all-important match which decides which side of the two advance to the knockouts saw India not capitalise on a great start, but just in time managed to stage a very good comeback to finish on a high with a strong total that Barbados fell way short off which now has India in the knockouts of the Commonwealth Games join alongside Australia from group A, New Zealand and England from group B.
1st innings : India – 162/4 (20)
Barbados having won the toss opt to bowl first and Shanika Bruce struck early dismissing Smriti Mandhana on 5(7). Jemimah Rodrigues joined Shafali Verma and the pair clicked straightaway that saw India have a few big overs during the powerplay and finish strong on 50-1 at the end of the 6-over mark. The 50-run stand was up between the duo and Shafali Verma had accelerated a bit more with Jemimah on the other end having lost her timing. Confusion in the calling had the dangerous-looking Shafali Verma run-out on a good 43(26) and a few balls later, Shakera Selman handed skipper Harmanpreet Kaur a golden duck. With Jemimah struggling to find her timing on an end saw another wicket fall as Hayley Matthews marked an end to Taniya Bhatia’s struggle on 6(13) and India at the end of the 15-over mark got to 104-4. Deepti Sharma had joined Jemimah Rodrigues who when hit a clean strike over the fence got her touch back as she went on to score a few boundaries in quick succession as did Deepti Sharma on the other end. Alleyne bowling the final over conceded 18 runs which powered India to post a strong 162-run total and saw Jemimah get to her crucial fifty. The partnership between Jemimah and Deepti was worth 72* runs with them individually being unbeaten on scores of 56(46) and 34(28) respectively. For Barbados, Shakera Selman topped the wickets chart with a wicket and an economy rate of 5 which had Shanika Bruce and Hayley Matthews with one each to their names follow.
India were under pressure but Jemimah Rodrigues held the innings from one end, scoring her 7th T20I Fifty and giving India a respectable total.
Well Played @JemiRodrigues #CricketTwitter #INDvBAR pic.twitter.com/9Ui031ZwQ7
— Female Cricket #B2022 (@imfemalecricket) August 3, 2022
2nd innings : Barbados – 62/8 (20)
Barbados in reply had the worst possible start as Renuka Singh Thakur ripped through their top order dismissing Deandra Dottin for a 3-ball-duck and Hayley Matthews on 9(7) after she’d got going having scored a couple of boundaries. Renuka bowling her 3rd over dismissed Kycia Knight on 3(12) and in the same over handed a two-ball-duck to Alleyne restricting Barbados to a score of 20-4 in the powerplay overs. Renuka completed her 4 overs in a spell registering unreal figures of 4-0-10-4. Kyshona Knight and Trishan Holder looking to resist calmed the chaos created by Renuka Thakur in the Barbados dugout, but Sneh Rana’s introduction had Kyshona depart on 16(20) which had Barbados at halfway mark 5 down for 35. Meghna Singh in the middle of a good spell struck defensive Trishan on 6(24). Radha Yadav too got on the wickets column having struck Alisa on 8(15). Barbados edged past 50 in the 16th over being 7 down and lost their 8th soon as Harmanpreet Kaur struck Shaunte Carrington on 3(11). Shakera Selman’s 12(16) saw Barbados finish on 62 handing India a big 100-run win. For India, Renuka Singh with 4 topped the wickets chart which had Harmanpreet Kaur, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav and Meghna Singh with a wicket each to their name follow.
The Swing Queen Renuka Singh Thakur 😍🙌#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/fhU4MtMgrT
— Female Cricket #B2022 (@imfemalecricket) August 3, 2022
Barbados after impressing against Pakistan couldn’t continue on their merry way as matches against Australia and India mirrored their real capability. Nevertheless, more than half of the side having not played international cricket going down with a win isn’t that bad either. Whereas, India having got the desired result with a win are through to the knockouts but have got to relook and play their best XI as they’ve now got a much more serious job in hand with the race for a podium finish eying the gold now being only a few days away.
A massive 100 Run Win for India against Barbados and they march into the semi-finals. #CricketTwitter #INDvBAR pic.twitter.com/iJJKytpt6E
— Female Cricket #B2022 (@imfemalecricket) August 3, 2022