Asian Games Women's Cricket Semi-Finals Set After India And Sri Lanka Wins

India and Sri Lanka won inside a single afternoon at Korogi Sports Park, and the Asian Games women's cricket semi-finals now have all four names. India beat Japan by eight wickets on Friday. Sri Lanka beat Malaysia by 86 runs. One of the two ties was over inside 25 overs.

The last four meet on Sunday, 20 September, at the same ground in Nisshin. India play Bangladesh. Sri Lanka play Pakistan. The ICC noted that this repeats the semi-final line-up from the Women's Asia Cup earlier in the month, a tournament India won.

Charani breaks Japan open

Japan were bowled out for 57 in 19.5 overs. Shree Charani did most of the damage. The left-arm spinner finished with 4 for 10, the best figures of her career. Shafali Verma added 2 for 13 and Shreyanka Patil took 1 for 8. Ayaka Kato-Stafford top-scored with 25 and found almost no support at the other end.

India needed five overs. Shafali made 40 not out from 15 balls, Richa Ghosh 12 from six, and the target went by at close to twelve an over. India finished on 58 for 2, Japan taking two wickets along the way.

Athapaththu sets the tone at Korogi

Sri Lanka batted first and posted 160 for 4. Chamari Athapaththu made 63 from 37 balls with seven fours and three sixes. Kavisha Dilhari finished 44 not out from 27. Harshitha Samarawickrama contributed 25 and Hasini Perera 23. Nurin Imanina was the pick of the Malaysian attack with 3 for 29.

Malaysia never threatened the chase. Winifred Duraisingam made 28 from 47 balls and the innings closed on 74. Dilhari took 2 for 4, Athapaththu 2 for 3 and Mithali Ayodhya 2 for 15. One note on the scoring: the ICC recorded Malaysia as all out, while ThePapare and Newswire both scored the innings 74 for 7 from the full 20 overs.

The four who are left

Only one of the four semi-finalists reached this stage without playing a knockout match:

• India, who beat Japan by eight wickets in the fourth quarter-final.
• Sri Lanka, who beat Malaysia by 86 runs in the third.
• Pakistan, who chased down Thailand on Thursday in a tight finish.
• Bangladesh, who went through when rain wiped out the China quarter-final before a toss and the ranking clause in the playing conditions decided it.

One ground, no league stage

The women's event is a straight knockout. Eight teams entered: Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Four quarter-finals, two semi-finals, two medal matches, and nothing in between to absorb a bad morning. That structure is also why a rained-out quarter-final removed a team from the draw without a ball being bowled.

Everything is being played at Korogi Sports Park, in Nisshin in Aichi Prefecture, across six days from 17 to 22 September. The gold medal match starts at 09:00 local time on the closing day. The bronze medal match follows at 14:00. For the four sides still in it, one win on Sunday guarantees a medal of some colour.