India Women cruised to a crushing 125-run win over Ireland and became the first team to register their place in the Super sixes in the ICC World Cup 2017 qualifiers through strong batting performances at Colombo’s P Sara Oval on Friday.

Batting first, India got to a formidable 250/2 on the back of a well-crafted century from opener Thirush Kamini (113 not out) and Deepti Sharma’s 89. In reply, Ireland had no answer to the Indian spinners, folding out for 125.

Kamini and Sharma started off steadily as the Irish new-ball bowlers enjoyed a good passage of play in the early overs. Rotating the strike and playing risk-free cricket, the Indian openers soon upped the ante. Just like their win against Sri Lanka, India were excellent in the death overs, amassing 79 from the last 10. It was Kamini who led her team’s surge with a number of big hits in the final overs.

Indian bowlers had Ireland on the mat from the start. Shikha Pandey (2/11) scalped two early wickets before the slow bowlers got in on the act. Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav were outstanding in the middle overs, giving away a miserly 45 runs between them in 19 overs while picking up five wickets. Devika Vaidya, who starred with the bat against Sri Lanka, chipped in with two wickets to clean up the Irish tail. This is India’s third straight win, after having registered comfortable wins against Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Brief score

  • India 250/2 in 50 overs (Thirush Kamini 113 not out, Deepti Sharma 89; Kim Garth 1/38, Isobel Joyce 1/39) beat Ireland 125 in 49.2 overs (Gaby Lewis 33, Isobel Joyce 31; Poonam Yadav 3/30, Shikha Pandey 2/11, Devika Vaidya 2/11) by 125 runs.