India's women commenced their preparations for the ICC Women's World T20 in fine fashion, defeating Ireland by 29 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday. Riding on the back of Smriti Mandhana's unbeaten 73 (52b, 10x4, 1x6), India ran up a total of 147 in 20 overs, after electing to bat first. In response, the Irish were restricted to 118 for nine.
The run chase was quickly derailed by a pair of early strikes from Shikha Pandey. Catherine Dalton helped restore some stability to the innings, as she and the captain Isobel Joyce added 38 runs for the fourth wicket. But with Ireland needing 62 runs from 46 balls, Niranjana Nagarajan struck a vital blow, running Dalton out in her follow through. The visitor crumbled thereafter, losing three for one in the space of six balls.
Earlier, after India lost Mithali Raj and V. Vanitha cheaply, Mandhana went after the bowling. She added 72 runs for the second wicket with Harmanpreet Kaur, and 46 for the third with Veda Krishnamurthy. India hammered 89 runs in the last 10 overs, with Veda striking four boundaries in her 19-ball-26. The total would prove well beyond the opponent's reach.
The scores:
India Women 147 for four in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 73 not out, Veda Krishnamurthy 26, Kim Garth three for 16) bt Ireland Women 118 for nine in 20 overs (Catherine Dalton 37, Isobel Joyce 28, Niranjana Nagarajan two for 17).
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