Jemimah, Deepti star as India decimates UAE

SYLHET: Jemimah Rodrigues was at her ruthless best, smashing an unbeaten 75 off just 45 balls (11 fours), as India thrashed an inexperienced United Arab Emirates by 104 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup here on Tuesday.

Jemimah, who came out at No.5, and No.3 Deepti Sharma (64 off 49 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) added 129 runs in 13.3 overs after UAE had reduced the tournament favourite to 19 for three in the fifth over. The gulf in class between the two teams became evident when India posted a challenging 178 for five off its 20 overs.

The UAE team, represented on the day by 11 players of Indian origin, never bothered to be competitive in the chase, finishing the quota of 20 overs at 74 for four. India (6 points) has now won three matches on the trot and is firmly on its way to secure a semi-final berth although big games against Bangladesh and Pakistan are yet to be played.

Since it was up against a much lower-ranked opponent, India, which opted to bat first, decided to shuffle its order. But, openers Richa Ghosh (0) and Sabbhineni Meghana (10), and No.4 Dayalan Hemalatha (2) fell cheaply inside the powerplay.

However, Jemimah and Deepti first steadied the ship – batting patiently until the 12th over – and then upped the ante. Jemimah had two main scoring zones – the arc between square leg and deep mid-wicket, and the area between cover and extra cover.

The UAE skipper Chaya Mughal used as many as eight bowlers, but the last six overs went for a costly 72 runs. In the second essay, UAE played in ultra-defensive mode after being reduced to a mere five for three by the second over.

Stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana, who did not bat on the day, led the India side as regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur was rested.

BRIEF SCORES: India Women 178/5 in 20 overs (Jemimah 75*, Deepti 64) bt United Arab Emirates Women 74/4 in 20 overs (Rajeshwari 2/20)