Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues power India to thumping win against UAE
The Indian team hammered UAE in their match to go top of the table in the ongoing 2022 Asia Cup. The Women in Blue, who made several changes to the squad, defeated a lackluster UAE side by a whopping 104 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues starred for the tournament favorites with a swashbuckling 75 off just 45 deliveries.
UAE’s chase kicked off to an unceremonious start after opening batter Theertha Satish was run out in the very first over. Esha Rohit Oza was dismissed in the next over before Natasha Cherriath was cleaned by Rajeshwari Gayakwad in the same over for a three-ball duck.
With the score reading a grim 5/3 UAE’s chase was pretty much over at that moment. India bowlers never gave them an inch and were all over the batters who never threatened the Indian total. Although Kavisha Egodage and Khushi Sharma stitched a handy partnership for the fourth wicket, the result seemed like a foregone conclusion after those early wickets.
Veteran left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad was India’s most successful bowler, scalping two wickets in her four overs. While the prodigious Renuka Singh went wicketless in the match, she returned with miserly figures of 0/12 in her four overs.
India post a massive target for UAE after a top-order batting collapse
Notably, India made four changes to the team that won the previous encounter against Malaysia and handed over the reins to star-opening batter Smriti Mandhana. The stand-in skipper won the toss and elected to bat first against UAE.
Apart from making several changes to the starting eleven, the management also made quite a few changes to the batting order as wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was promoted to the top of the order. But her stay at the crease was short-lived after she was dismissed for a golden duck in the first over of the match.
The Indians were in a spot of bother after losing three quick wickets inside the powerplay with the score reading 19/3. That is when the experienced Deepti Sharma and in-form Jemimah Rodrigues put their hands up for the team with an incredible 129-run stand. Both Deepti (64) and Jemima (75*) registered their respective half-centuries, with the latter opening her shoulders in the latter stages of the innings.
The diminutive batter received support from the other end as Pooja Vastrakar, and Kiran Navgire compiled handy cameos to push India’s total to 178/5 in 20 overs.
