India defeat Ireland By 5 Runs (DLS), Enter Semis

India beat Ireland by 5 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method in Group-2 of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023
After winning the toss, India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, elected to bat first. India put up a formidable score of 155 runs for the loss of 6 wickets, setting Ireland a target of 156 runs.
In response to India’s highest total in this edition of T20WC, Ireland began terribly by losing their first wicket off their inning’s new ball. The Irish team suffered two setbacks in the first over of the innings. Amy Hunter was run out on the first ball of the innings. Hunter lost her wicket in the process of taking two runs. She was able to score one run. After this, Renuka Singh clean-bowled Prendergast on the fifth ball without scoring any run.
In reply, Ireland manage to score 54 runs in 8.2 overs when it started raining. Team India was 5 runs ahead in the DLS method. The match could not be completed due to rain and India won the match.
Smriti Mandhana put on a career-best performance, scoring 87 runs off just 61 balls. She hit 9 fours and 3 sixes, and in doing so, notched up her 22nd fifty in T20 Internationals and a second half-century in this tournament. Shefali Verma contributed 24 runs, while Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur added 19 and 13 runs respectively. Kaur’s 13 runs also marked her 3000th run in T20 Internationals, as well as her 150th T20 International match.
For Ireland, Laura Delaney took 3 wickets, Orla Prendergast got 2 wickets, and Arlene Kelly got one wicket. Despite Mandhana’s impressive performance, no other Indian batsman was able to make a significant contribution. Mandhana and Shefali shared a 62-run partnership for the opening wicket, while Mandhana and Kaur shared a 52-run partnership for the second wicket. However, Kaur and Richa Ghosh were both dismissed in the 16th over by Delaney, with Kaur scoring 13 runs in 20 balls and Ghosh failing to open her account. Mandhana then went on to score the 22nd half-century of her T20 international career with a six.
In the nineteenth over, Mandhana was caught out while attempting to propel India to a formidable total. He was snared by Gabby Lewis off the fourth ball of the nineteenth over, bowled by Orla Prendergast. Subsequently, Prendergast had Deepti Sharma caught by Dempsey on the next ball, leaving her scoreless. Jemima Rodrigues was also dismissed on the last ball of the innings, having scored 19 runs off 12 balls, including three fours. Pooja Vastrakar remained unbeaten after contributing two runs to the total. India now qualifies for the semi-final clash against arch-rival Australia.

Sunil Yash Kalra is the founder of Indian Sports Fan and Women’s Cricket Historian.