Japan Women VS India Women Match ball by ball Commentary

On to the semis - A thoroughly one-sided contest, and India stamped their authority to cruise into the semifinals. With that, the expected four teams are through to the next stage. Sri Lanka Women take on Pakistan Women in the first semifinal, while India Women face Bangladesh Women in the second. The winners will advance to the final, in this case, the gold medal match, with the losers left to contest for the bronze. Both semifinals take place on Sunday, 20th September, with the first scheduled to begin at 12 am GMT (5.30 am IST) and the second following at 5 am GMT (10.30 am IST). Until then, cheers!

A quick word with Sree Charani - Charani says she is enjoying her time in Japan and feels it is a great experience to be here and be part of the Asian Games. On her bowling, Charani says she has simply focused on sticking to her strengths and trying to get the ball to spin. Asked if she has had any time to look around Japan, Charani says the team took some rest following the Asia Cup final and the subsequent travel. She adds that they came in early today and went through their usual routines, having not had any practice coming into this game.

A day to remember, regardless of the scoreline - Every run drew a cheer from the Japanese faithful at the venue, with the occasion itself meaning more than the result against a heavyweight side like India. Little was expected of them, but Japan made a promising start. Haruna Iwasaki and Ayaka Kato Stafford put on 24 for the first wicket. Boundaries were hard to come by, but credit where it's due, the running between the wickets was sharp and proactive, with several twos picked up. They were the only two to reach double figures, though, and once both fell, the rest of the batting crumbled in a hurry, with Japan bowled out for a paltry 57. It was total spin domination from India Women. Sree Charani continued her fine run of form with a sensational four-wicket haul, Shafali Verma chipped in with two, and Deepti Sharma and Patil picked up one apiece to complete the rout.

Shafali steps up again - To their credit, Japan managed a couple of early wickets even defending as modest a total as 57. The bowling itself was far from threatening, and some slack has to be cut for the hosts there given the inexperience. But it was reckless shot selection more than anything from the likes of G Kamalini and Bharti Fulmali, who threw their wickets away. Both were handed a golden chance to finish things off themselves, and neither took it. It needed a Shafali Verma special instead, and she duly delivered, timing the ball beautifully and finding the gaps at will. Her belligerent 40 off 15 was more than enough to get India home.

Bossed up and how! Clinical with the ball, commanding with the bat, India Women have sauntered to a massive win, chasing the total down inside the Powerplay itself. They have also qualified for the semi-final with ease, where they will face Bangladesh Women. Good scenes from the middle as Shafali and Richa share a warm hug before crossing over to greet the Japanese players. The players of Japan Women take a lap of the ground too, bowing to the crowd in each stand as a mark of gratitude for the support shown.