Women's Asia Cup: Shafali, Jemimah guide India to semis; UAE take on Pakistan

India defeated Bangladesh by 59 runs in the Women's Asia Cup match in Sylhet, Bangladesh on Saturday, to qualify for the semifinals of the competition.

Opting to bat, Shafali Verma smashed a quickfire 55 off only 44 balls, while in-form Jemimah Rodrigues used the long handle to good effect with an unbeaten 35 as India managed a par 159 or 5.

Shafali and stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana (47 off 38 balls) added 96 for the opening stand, while Jemimah and Deepti Sharma (10) added 29 runs in just 2.3 overs.

The Indian bowlers then defended the target easily, restricting the hosts to 100 for 7. Captain Nigar Sultana top-scored with 36 while Fargana Hoque made 30.

For India, Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma picked up two wickets apiece.

Meanwhile, the UAE take on Pakistan in their next match on Sunday.

"It is just a matter of getting more match practice and getting those runs in. I don't think we did horribly. I just think with this experience, we will know what we need to do for further matches. So, it is just about pushing further and take all the learnings that we can from this match," UAE all-rounder Natasha Cherriath had said after the loss to Thailand in the previous game.

Asked if the UAE still harboured hopes of reaching the semis, Natasha said: "Definitely. Why not? We are not here just to participate. We are here to give our best and leave a statement about UAE cricket. We may be a very young side but we are very talented and we are here to learn everything that we can. So, we will be giving more than a 100 percent for our next two matches as well."

Brief scores:

India beat Bangladesh by 59 runs

UAE vs Pakistan, 11.30 am