Richa Ghosh stole the limelight as the Women in Blue continued their emphatic run in the Asia Cup. Indian women guaranteed themselves a semi-final spot, thrashing the UAE women by a massive 78-run margin in Dambulla on Sunday. Chasing a big 202, UAE batters never found themselves in the game as Indian bowlers troubled them right from the start, taking wickets at regular intervals. UAE captain Esha Oza and Kavisha Egodage played crucial knocks of 38 and 40* to remember.

Batting first, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana added runs quickly but Egodage bowled a brilliant delivery to get rid of Mandhana on 13. Samaira Dharnidharka then got the crucial wicket of Verma (37), who was in an attacking mood. Dayalan Hemalatha yet again disappointed the selectors and the fans with a low score of 2. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues added 54 runs to steady India’s innings.

Rodrigues departed for 14 while Harmanpreet played the anchor’s role to perfection with a top-scoring 66-run knock. It was Ghosh, who was at her scintillating best, becoming the first wicket-keeper batter to score a half-century in Women’s Asia Cup history. The right-handed batter’s quickfire knock was laced with 12 boundaries and one huge six. Ghosh’s unbeaten 29-ball 64* powered India to an imposing total of 201/5, their first-ever 200-plus score in T20Is.

In reply, UAE women failed to find their momentum going as Indian bowlers struck in consecutive overs. UAE lost three wickets for 36 runs in 7.3 overs. However, Oza and Egodage added 40 runs for the fourth wicket, trying to get their side out of trouble. But Tanuja Kanwar produced an important breakthrough by dismissing Oza. From thereon, Indian women never allowed the opponent batters to score runs freely, and eventually, winning the game.