In their final league encounter of the Women's Asia Cup on Monday, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad combined for seven wickets, laying the groundwork for India's devastating nine-wicket victory over Thailand.
India took down the pitiful score within the first six overs, losing only Shafali Verma, with Sabbhineni Meghana and Pooja Vastrakar both undefeated on 20 and 12, respectively, after the spin trio skittled out Thailand for just 37 in 15.1 overs.
In light of the soggy field and conditions, acting captain Smriti Mandhana chose to bowl first in her 100th T20I game. Thailand played it safe, scoring only 16/1 at the conclusion of the powerplay after Deepti Sharma clean bowled Natthakan Chantham.
After losing the power play, Thailand's downfall started with the run-out of Naruemol Chaiwai in the seventh over. Meghna Singh, who was playing point, caused the dismissal with her throw. Chanida Sutthiruang was bowled through the gate with the very next ball by Sneh for a golden duck.
In the ninth over, Nannapat Koncharoenkai was run out due to her careless running. Sneh and Rajeshwari then quickly moved through the middle order, leaving Thailand at 28/8 after 12 overs. The suffering of Thailand was put to an end at 37 when Meghna and Deepti removed Nattaya Boochatham and Thipatcha Putthawong in a pair of overs. The last eight wickets fell for 17 runs.
Before Shafali lobbed a catch to cover off Nattaya in the third over, Meghana and Shafali both hit a four in the next overs. When Pooja joined Meghana, the pair each struck two fours to lead India to a convincing victory. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also advanced to the semifinals along with India.
Thailand, on the other hand, believes that their chances of making the semifinals are slim. Currently in fourth place on the standings with three victories and as many losses and a net run rate of -0.949, they would require the UAE to lose to the hosts and defending champions Bangladesh (who have a net run rate of +0.423) in order to advance to the semifinals.
Brief scores: Thailand 37 all out in 15.1 overs (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 12; Sneh Rana 3/9, Deepti Sharma 2/10) lost to India 40/1 in 6 overs (Sabbhineni Meghana 20 not out, Pooja Vastrakar 12 not out; Nattaya Boochatham 1/15) by nine wickets