Asia Cup Rising Stars: India A beat Nepal
Senior India national team bowlers Tanuja Kanwar and Minnu Mani dished out a dominating display to guide India A to a seven-wicket victory over Nepal and seal their semifinal spot in the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars on Tuesday.
Left-arm spinner Tanuja ran through Nepal with 4/12, while Minnu wreaked havoc with 3/8, as the two spinners bundled Nepal out for just 78 in 18 overs.
India A, powered by an unbeaten 39 off 18 balls from Dinesh Vrinda, chased down the target in just 7.5 overs for the loss of three wickets, securing two points and topping Group A with four points and a strong net run rate of +3.042.
The second semifinal spot from the group will be decided after UAE face Pakistan A later in the day.
The UAE sit on four points, but a Pakistan win would tie both teams on four, leaving net run rate to decide who advances. If the UAE win, they’ll top the pool with six points, pushing India to second. India dominated in all departments, with their spinners weaving a web around a struggling Nepal batting lineup. Openers Bindu Rawal (11) and Samjhana Khadka (28) offered a brief resistance, but it disappeared once they were dismissed.
After reaching 56 for 3 in the 10th over, Nepal collapsed to 65 for 9 by the 16th, with left-arm spinner Radha Yadav adding 2 for 17 to the carnage. It was only a matter of time before India chased the target, doing so with ease as Dinesh Vrinda played daring strokes, hitting nine boundaries to finish the job with eight overs to spare.
