India kept their Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final push alive with a five-wicket win over Bangladesh at Old Trafford, powered by Sree Charani’s record-breaking spell and Shafali Verma’s brutal start to the chase.
Bangladesh chose to bat but were held to 136 for eight after India’s left-arm spin pairing of Charani and Radha Yadav seized control through the middle and death overs. The ICC’s match report recorded Charani finishing with 2 for 21, a return that lifted her to 12 wickets for the tournament and made her India’s leading wicket-taker in a single Women’s T20 World Cup edition.
Shafali turns chase into statement
India’s reply was effectively shaped inside the powerplay. Shafali reached fifty from 29 balls, the second-fastest half-century in Women’s T20 World Cup history, and her 34-ball 53 took India to 63 for one after six overs.
Bangladesh briefly slowed the chase when Shafali, Yastika Bhatia and Richa Ghosh fell in quick succession, but Jemimah Rodrigues’ 26 steadied the innings before Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma completed the job at 139 for five with more than three overs unused.
The result moves India to six points from four Group A matches, second behind Australia, while Bangladesh now need to beat South Africa to retain a realistic semi-final route.
