Women’s Asia Cup, semifinals as it happened: Deepti Sharma stars in India’s win, SL defeat Pakistan

Final: India will take on Sri Lanka on Saturday, 15 October at 1 pm IST. A stunning win for Sri Lanka, after Pakistan needed 18 off 18 balls at one stage.

India vs Thailand summary:

Asked to bat first, India finished with 148/6 (Shafali Verma 42 off 28).

In reply, Thailand finished with 74/9 (Deepti Sharma 3/7).

India vs Thailand highlights:

Player of the match: Shafali Verma for her 42 off 28 at the top of the order. She also got 1/9 from two overs with the ball.

Thailand 74/9 (20 overs): India storm into the final with a second successive win against Thailand. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co were efficient with both bat and ball. Thailand, meanwhile, can go back being proud of their performance. Their win against Pakistan in the league stage remains one of the highlights of the tournament and they did exceedingly well to reach the semis. The second semifinal between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played later today.

India win by 74 runs!

Thailand 73/9 (19.4 overs): OUT! Deepti Sharma with some fine work at mid-off to get a direct hit at the striker’s end. Onnicha walks back for 2 off 4 as India march towards the final.

Thailand 72/8 (19 overs): Onnicha survives the hat-trick ball! India had placed a number of close catching fielders but the right-hander drove it straight over for one. Gayakwad finishes with figures of 2/10 from her four overs.

Thailand 71/8 (18.5 overs): OUT! Rajeshwari Gayakwad is on a hat-trick. She bowls another quick delivery and this time Phannita Maya is clean bowled.

Thailand 71/7 (18.4 overs): OUT! Gayakwad bowls it quicker and strikes Chaiwai in front. The Thailand skipper walks back after a valiant 21 off 41.

Thailand 71/6 (18 overs): OUT! Kanoh hits just the fourth four of the Thai innings but is stumped off the last delivery of the over. Shafali strikes in her first over.

Thailand 63/5 (17 overs): OUT! Sneh Rana strikes with the last delivery of her spell to finish with figures of 1/16 from her four overs. Nattaya Boochatham is out LBW for 21 off 29 after adding 42 off 55 with skipper Chaiwai. Meanwhile, Radha Yadav looked in some discomfort and has gone off the field. The left-arm spinner had finished with figures of 0/23 from her four overs.

Thailand 56/4 (16 overs): Shot! Just the third four of the innings, after 69 balls no less, as Nattaya drives one from Radha over the off side ring.

Thailand 50/4 (15 overs): Chaiwai keep trying the sweep shot and Sneh Rana keeps beating the right-hander. Good over for India, just one run from it. There’s a bit of a drizzle now but play is continuing. The DLS par score for Thailand at the moment is 106.

Thailand 49/4 (14 overs): A third no ball by Radha Yadav, really poor from the left-arm spinner. Better over for Thailand, seven runs from it.

Thailand 42/4 (13 overs): Rajeshwari Gayakwad returns to the attack to bowl her third over and concedes just two runs. Thailand haven’t lost a wicket in the last five overs but their innings isn’t really going anywhere.

Thailand 40/4 (12 overs): Radha bowls a no ball but Chaiwai can’t capitalise on the free hit. The Thai skipper is almost exclusively looking to sweep the ball. Poor stuff from Radha as she bowls another no ball and this time Chaiwai steps out and swings hard but is stumped. No wicket, of course, because of the free hit.

Thailand 35/4 (11 overs): Chaiwai attempts to sweep Sneh as well but the off-spinner beats the right-hander in consecutive deliveries to end the over.

Thailand 33/4 (10 overs): Radha Yadav comes on to bowl and Chaiwai plays some nice sweep shots to keep rotating the strike. Thailand now need 116 off 60.

Thailand 28/4 (9 overs): Sneh Rana joins the attack and concedes six runs in her first over. Nattaya Boochatham is at the crease now with skipper Naruemol Chaiwai.

Thailand 21/4 (7.5 overs): OUT! A brilliant yorker from Renuka and Chanida is clean bowled for 1 off 7. India are being relentless with the ball once again versus Thailand.

Thailand 18/3 (6.1 overs): OUT! Deepti gets her third wicket as Tippoch departs for 5 off 10. Another fine catch by India, this time wicketkeeper Richa holds on.

Thailand 18/2 (6 overs): Renuka joins the attack and bowls a good over to begin her spell. Thailand are in a tough spot at the end of the powerplay. The Indians have brought good intensity to the field and will be determined to keep chipping away at the wickets.

Thailand 10/2 (4.1 overs): OUT! Deepti has her second wicket and it’s the important one of Chantham. The right-hander hits it in the air and Pooja Vastrakar takes a fine catch in the deep. Chantham departs for 4 off 14 as Tippoch comes to the crease.

Thailand 10/1 (4 overs): Chantham steps out and drives one just over mid-off for two. Another tidy over by Gayakwad.

Thailand 7/1 (2.5 overs): OUT! Shafali dropped an absolute sitter earlier in the over to give Chantham a reprieve but this time she holds on to the catch at backward square-leg and Nannapat walks back for 5 off 10. Deepti gets the wicket as Thailand skipper Chaiwai comes to the crease.

Thailand 5/0 (2 overs): Nannapat sweeps it nicely in the gap for four but Gayakwad does well to bowl five dots.

Thailand 1/0 (1 over): Deepti Sharma takes the new ball again and starts with a tidy over, just one run from it. India are going with spin from both ends and Rajeshwari Gayakwad is joining the attack.

The players are back on the field and we’re ready for the chase!

India 148/6 (20 overs): Deepti Sharma is dismissed off the last delivery of the innings for 3 off 5. Nattaya Boochatham returns with figures of 1/31. India have a formidable total on the board by Thailand did well to fight back in the second half of the innings.

India finish with 148/6

India 142/5 (19 overs): Six! Much-needed runs for India as Pooja deposits one over the boundary. Thipatcha finishes with figures of 1/24.

India 132/5 (18 overs): OUT! Harmanpreet was dropped off the previous ball but this time Chatham takes a fine catch at long-on to dismiss the India captain for 36 off 30. Tippoch gets her third wicket to finish with superb bowling figures of 3/24 from her four overs. The new batter is Deepti Sharma.

India 126/4 (17 overs): An excellent over from Onnicha, just five runs from it, and she finishes with bowling figures of 0/23 from her four overs. India will be keen to get past 150, they need Harmanpreet to bat through.

India 120/4 (15.4 overs): OUT! Tippoch gets her second wicket as Richa is trapped in front for 2 off 5. The right-hander attempted a sweep but was beaten and the umpire had no hesitation in raising the finger. Thailand have kept fighting back impressively. The new batter for India is Pooja Vastrakar.

India 117/3 (15 overs): Nattaya offers width and Harmanpreet cuts it through the gap for four. The India captain then ends the over with a second successive four, this time past point. India need Harman to keep going.

India 109/3 (13.5 overs): OUT! Jemimah departs for 27 off 26 after finding the fielder at long-on. Rosenan Kanoh takes the catch as Thipatcha Putthawong gets the wicket. The new batter is Richa Ghosh.

India 105/2 (13 overs): Onnicha bowls a high full-toss and Harmanpreet pulls it in the gap for four. Eight runs come from that over.

Jemimah Rodrigues has crossed 200 runs for the tournament and is continuing to add to that tally here in the semifinal.

India 97/2 (12 overs): Superb batting by Jemimah. She plays another inside-out drive before stepping out and sweeping one over mid-wicket for four. The ball isn’t really coming-on off the pitch and the Indian batters are doing well to play shots square of the wicket.

India 89/2 (11 overs): Three fours in leg-spinner Nanthita Boonsukham’s first over – two for Jemimah and one for Harmanpreet. The best of the lot was an inside-out drive past cover by Jemimah. Classy batting by the right-hander and a big over for India.

India 73/2 (10 overs): Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has joined Shafali Verma at the crease. India are in a strong position at the halfway stage of their innings and will be keen to get past 150 at least.

India 67/2 (9.1 overs): OUT! Shafali Verma is gone for 42 off 28! What a catch by Thailand skipper Naruemol Chaiwai! Shafali stepped out and struck it hard and Chaiwai managed to catch it cleanly standing at short mid-on, ahead of the non-striker. Sornnarin Tippoch strikes with her first delivery.

India 67/1 (9 overs): No boundary in that Onnicha over but the Indian batters manage to pick seven runs on the back of singles and doubles.

India 60/1 (8 overs): Shot! Shafali steps out and hits one from Thipatcha for six over the long-on fielder. Nicely done by the right-hander. She’s moving around the crease well and batting more confidently now.

India 51/1 (7 overs): Onnicha Kamchomphu joins the attack and gets some steep bounce to trouble Jemimah. Another good over for Thailand, just four runs from it. Shafali has moved on to 30 off 19.

India 47/1 (6 overs): Left-arm spinner Thipatcha joins the attack and bowls a top over, just a single from it. Jemimah hits one in the air and fortunately for her, the ball falls short of the fielder in the deep on the leg side. India will be content with their powerplay performance, though.

India 46/1 (5 overs): Shafali is continuing to go hard and she ends the over with a four through mid-wicket. India are doing well in terms of run-rate.

India 38/1 (4.3 overs): OUT! Thailand get the big wicket of Smriti Mandhana! The left-hander hits a high-ish full-toss straight to mid-on and this time the catch is taken by Onnicha Kamchomphu. Phannita Maya gets the wicket in her first over. Mandhana walks back for 13 off 14 as Jemimah Rodrigues comes to the crease.

India 34/0 (4 overs): Shafali survives, yet again! This time she has a mix-up with Smriti and scrambles back in just in time. The right-hander then plays two solid strokes on the on side for fours. She’s lived a charmed life so far but played some impressive shots too. The runs will, of course, give her the confidence she needs.

India 24/0 (3 overs): Shafali survives, again! She starts Nattaya’s second over with two aerial shots for four – a sweep and a drive straight over. She then cuts one straight to extra cover but the catch is dropped. Mandhana then plays a stylish back-foot punch for four past cover. Big over for India.

India 11/0 (2 overs): Chanida Sutthiruang drops one short and Smriti Mandhana pulls it past mid-on for four. But the right-arm medium pacer does well to concede just one more run in the rest of the over. Smriti kept trying to walk out of the crease and be aggressive but couldn’t find the gaps.

India 6/0 (1 over): Shafali Verma survives! Nattaya Boochatham bowls a wonderful delivery that beats the right-hander in the air but unfortunately for Thailand, it beats their keeper too. Streaky start by Shafali but India manage to pick six runs in the first over.

Natthakan Chantham says she was sleeping when the Bangladesh vs UAE match was called off and woke up to the news of Thailand making it to the semifinals, and the team then celebrated it. Calls today a second chance.

8.29 pm: Smriti Mandhana is back at the top of the order along with Shafali Verma. The India openers are at the crease and we’re ready for play. Here we go!

Changes for India: Harmanpreet Kaur, Radha Yadav and Renuka Singh come in for S Meghana, Kiran Navgire and Meghna Singh.

Playing XIs

Thailand: Nannapat Koncharoenkai (w), Natthakan Chantham, Naruemol Chaiwai (c), Chanida Sutthiruang, Sornnarin Tippoch, Phannita Maya, Rosenan Kanoh, Nattaya Boochatham, Onnicha Kamchomphu, Thipatcha Putthawong, Nanthita Boonsukham.

India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (w), Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

TOSS: Thailand have won the toss and opted to field first.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022 semifinal between India and Thailand in Sylhet.

After a comprehensive win in their last match of the league stage, India are set to face Thailand for the second time in a row in Sylhet. Thailand edged out defending champions Bangladesh for the final spot in the semifinal lineup with the latter’s match against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday getting abandoned due to rain. It’s been a remarkable run by the Thai team to the semis and despite their nine-wicket loss to India a few days ago, they will surely be upbeat about their chances today. As far as India are concerned, they will be determined to put in a strong performance and secure their spot in another Asia Cup final, where they would face either Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022: Thailand vs India, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in semifinals; Bangladesh ousted

Squads

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Sabbhineni Meghana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (w), Kiran Navgire, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Meghna Singh, Radha Yadav, Dayalan Hemalatha.

Thailand: Nannapat Koncharoenkai (w), Natthakan Chantham, Naruemol Chaiwai (c), Sornnarin Tippoch, Chanida Sutthiruang, Rosenan Kanoh, Phannita Maya, Nattaya Boochatham, Onnicha Kamchomphu, Banthida Leephatthana, Thipatcha Putthawong, Suleeporn Laomi, Suwanan Khiaoto, Aphisara Suwanchonrathi, Sunida Chaturongrattana, Nanthita Boonsukham.