Dambulla, July 24: India punched their ticket into the semi-finals following their thumping 82-run victory over Nepal in the final game of the group stage of the ongoing Women's Asia Cup on Tuesday at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium here in Sri Lanka.

India finished at the top of Group A, unbeaten with six points. Following India's victory, Pakistan qualified for the final four as well by finishing the group stage in the second spot.

Even in the absence of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar, India dominated Nepal in all facets of the game.
While defending a competitive total of 178/3, Indian bowlers outclassed Nepal batters following a combined effort from the pacers and spinners.

Some Nepal batters got off to a desired start but failed to convert it into substantial knocks. Arundhati Reddy, with her pace, inflicted early blows, and the spin duo of Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav made short work of the middle order.

Despite the Indian bowlers' prowess, Nepal ensured that the game went to the final ball. Bindu Rawal, with her unbeaten knock of 17, ensured that Nepal didn't get bowled out. Bepal ended their innings with a score of 96/9 and lost the game by 82 runs.

Earlier in the innings, the new-looking opening duo of Shafali Verma and Dayalan Hemalatha provided India with a fiery start after they decided to bat after winning the toss.

In the absence of Harmanpreet, Hemalatha was pushed up in the order. The openers took their time to understand the conditions, and a couple of mediocre deliveries were spared.

Shafali soon resorted to her destructive approach while her partner continued to play deliveries with a watchful eye. She raced to her fifty in just 26 deliveries, while Hemalatha continued to find the correct timing.

Eventually, Sita Rana Magar brought an end to Hemalatha's scratchy 47-run knock. Shafali (81 off 48 deliveries) soon followed in her footsteps and missed her maiden T20I century.

India's run rate started to slow down with the new batters taking their time to understand the nature of the surface. Towards the end, Jemimah Rodrigues managed to pick up a couple of boundaries, which propelled India's score to 178/3.

Brief Score: India 178/3 (Shafali Verma 81, Dayalan Hemalatha 47; Sita Rana Magar 2-25) vs Nepal 96/9 (Sita Rana Magar 18; Deepti Sharma 3-13, Radha Yadav 2-12, Arundhati Reddy 2-28). (ANI)

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