Charani, Shafali power India past Japan and into Asian Games semi-finals

Defending gold-medal winners India overcame hosts Japan by eight wickets in the fourth quarter-final of the women's cricket competition at the Asian Games in Nisshin on Friday. India chased down 58 in five overs to comfortably secure their place in the semi-finals. They will now face Bangladesh on September 20.

Japan did not exit the competition empty-handed. Their effort to bat as close to the full 20 overs as possible, their running between the wickets and their fielding effort were big positives. But they were bowled out for 57 in 19.5 overs after a solid start, leaving India with little to chase.

India, who opted to field, made the most of a pitch offering turn and bounce, which made stroke-making difficult for Japan. Shree Charani led the attack with another four-wicket haul, continuing an impressive run after taking 4 for 20 in the Women's T20 Asia Cup final. She struck twice off consecutive balls in the seventh over, removing opener Haruna Iwasaki for 10 before having captain Mai Yanagida caught behind for a duck, but couldn't convert it into a hat-trick.

Iwasaki and Ayaka Kato-Stafford had put on 24 for the opening wicket, but Japan struggled to build partnerships once the stand was broken. Kato-Stafford top-scored with 25 off 47 balls, while Iwasaki made 10 off 22. Japan lost their last eight wickets for just 33 runs.

Charani finished with 4 for 10 from her four overs, while Shafali Verma took 2 for 13 and Deepti Sharma claimed 1 for 14.

Shreyanka Patil, returning to international cricket for the first time in three months after recovering from an ankle ligament injury suffered during the T20 World Cup in June, took 1 for 8 from 3.5 overs. Japan's innings ended when Patil bowled Nonoha Yasumoto for a duck.

Chasing 58, Shafali opened the innings aggressively, smashing four boundaries in the first over to immediately put Japan under pressure. G Kamalini, who opened in place of Smriti Mandhana, and No. 3 Bharti Fulmali then threw their wickets away to fielders at long-on and point respectively. Left-arm seamer Yasumoto, who dismissed Kamalini, also delivered a wicket-maiden with the new ball.

Shafali finished the game with a six over long-on, staying unbeaten on 40 off just 15 balls. She struck six fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 266.66, as India won with 15 overs to spare.