Tuesday, June 16, 2009 TAUNTON: Mithali Raj guides her team home as New Zealand joins the last four with win over South Africa.After Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team was knocked out on Sunday night, Mithali Raj made sure an India team made it through to the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 after her fellow batters made heavy weather of the chase against Sri Lanka in a low-scoring encounter at Taunton on Monday.Sri Lanka reached 94-5 from a rain-reduced 18 overs, but India was stumbling in reply before player of the match Mithali stroked an assured 32 not out to seal the five-wicket win.Sri Lanka started off stodgily on a damp wicket, reaching only 34-3 from the first 10 overs after opting to bat. Some bright hitting from Deepika Rasangika late on, with a 20-ball unbeaten 24, pushed her team forward but the total still looked light. An impressive fielding effort, however, gave it a chance.Earlier, New Zealand rode into the semi-finals unbeaten after recording its third successive win, beating South Africa. Aimee Watkins’ players had too much know-how for their spirited Group A opponents as they restricted South Africa to 124-4 in persistent drizzle before easing home by six wickets. They are now likely to face India at Trent Bridge on Thursday.India still has some troubles in the batting department, however, evidenced again by its display against Sri Lanka. Three of the four top batters fell within nine runs – including the impressive run-out of Rumeli Dhar (for nought) from Chamari Atapaththu’s direct throw from point – leaving it wobbling at 36-3.Debutante Punam Raut (30) took up the baton, but was also victim of a sharp run-out and when Reema Malhotra fell for 12, India still had work to do (79-5).Mithali assumed the senior role and in the penultimate over stroked three classical cover drives off Sripali Weerakkody – two fours and a single – to finish a game which had its share of tense batting moments.“I didn’t do my job in the earlier games so it was time to do something for the team,” said Mithali. “It was very dicey. When I went in we had to preserve our wickets while still scoring.“I was very tense. I may have looked cool – it’s like the duck looking calm while it’s paddling furiously under water. I don’t have a big build, timing is my strength. But I put everything into those two boundaries at the end.”Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Polgampola said: “Mithali was brilliant for India. When she came in, the boundaries started to flow for them and the game began to turn. Perhaps we were a bit slow at the start of our innings, but we couldn’t push on because we lost wickets.”New Zealand’s win was far more comfortable. Though Cri-Zelda Brits (57 not out) and Susanna Benade (44) added 91 for the fourth wicket, they were light on singles, leaving South Africa 30 runs short of a challenging total.New Zealand could even afford a couple of cheap dismissals as Suzie Bates (24) and Watkins (35) sent up soft catches.Watkins said: “I thought we did really well today, especially with those conditions in the field. We were always looking comfortable.”South Africa could still advance on net run-rate if it beats Australia on Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 TAUNTON: Mithali Raj guides her team home as New Zealand joins the last four with win over South Africa.After Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team was knocked out on Sunday night, Mithali Raj made sure an India team made it through to the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 after her fellow batters made heavy weather of the chase against Sri Lanka in a low-scoring encounter at Taunton on Monday.Sri Lanka reached 94-5 from a rain-reduced 18 overs, but India was stumbling in reply before player of the match Mithali stroked an assured 32 not out to seal the five-wicket win.Sri Lanka started off stodgily on a damp wicket, reaching only 34-3 from the first 10 overs after opting to bat. Some bright hitting from Deepika Rasangika late on, with a 20-ball unbeaten 24, pushed her team forward but the total still looked light. An impressive fielding effort, however, gave it a chance.Earlier, New Zealand rode into the semi-finals unbeaten after recording its third successive win, beating South Africa. Aimee Watkins’ players had too much know-how for their spirited Group A opponents as they restricted South Africa to 124-4 in persistent drizzle before easing home by six wickets. They are now likely to face India at Trent Bridge on Thursday.India still has some troubles in the batting department, however, evidenced again by its display against Sri Lanka. Three of the four top batters fell within nine runs – including the impressive run-out of Rumeli Dhar (for nought) from Chamari Atapaththu’s direct throw from point – leaving it wobbling at 36-3.Debutante Punam Raut (30) took up the baton, but was also victim of a sharp run-out and when Reema Malhotra fell for 12, India still had work to do (79-5).Mithali assumed the senior role and in the penultimate over stroked three classical cover drives off Sripali Weerakkody – two fours and a single – to finish a game which had its share of tense batting moments.“I didn’t do my job in the earlier games so it was time to do something for the team,” said Mithali. “It was very dicey. When I went in we had to preserve our wickets while still scoring.“I was very tense. I may have looked cool – it’s like the duck looking calm while it’s paddling furiously under water. I don’t have a big build, timing is my strength. But I put everything into those two boundaries at the end.”Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Polgampola said: “Mithali was brilliant for India. When she came in, the boundaries started to flow for them and the game began to turn. Perhaps we were a bit slow at the start of our innings, but we couldn’t push on because we lost wickets.”New Zealand’s win was far more comfortable. Though Cri-Zelda Brits (57 not out) and Susanna Benade (44) added 91 for the fourth wicket, they were light on singles, leaving South Africa 30 runs short of a challenging total.New Zealand could even afford a couple of cheap dismissals as Suzie Bates (24) and Watkins (35) sent up soft catches.Watkins said: “I thought we did really well today, especially with those conditions in the field. We were always looking comfortable.”South Africa could still advance on net run-rate if it beats Australia on Tuesday.
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