Shree Charani's 4-10 bowls Japan out for 57 as India close on an Asian Games semi-final

Japan Women were bowled out for 57 in 19.5 overs at Korogi Sports Park, leaving India Women 58 to make for a place in the Asian Games semi-finals

India's defence of the women's cricket gold medal opened with a bowling display that left their quarter-final all but settled at the halfway stage. Harmanpreet Kaur chose to field, and the hosts were held to 57 all out, folding a ball short of their full 20 overs.

Left-arm spinner Shree Charani did the bulk of the damage, returning 4-10 from her four overs. Japan had reached 24 without loss through the powerplay before she struck twice in the seventh over, removing Haruna Iwasaki for 10 and captain Mai Yanagida without scoring.

A semi-final against Bangladesh, who reached the last four earlier in the round without a ball being bowled, is what a chase of 58 is worth. India began it at 17 for none inside the first two overs.

Charani breaks the powerplay calm

Japan's openers had done what the situation asked of them, seeing off India's new-ball bowlers and reaching 24 for none at the end of the six-over powerplay without taking a risk.

Charani's second over changed the innings. Iwasaki went first, for 10, and Yanagida followed in the same over without scoring, leaving Japan's middle order to face spin with 13 overs still to negotiate.

Charani, who sits at the top of the ICC's T20I bowling rankings, returned later in the innings to take two more, finishing with four wickets for 10 runs from her full allocation.

The last seven wickets bring 24 runs

Japan were 33 for 3 when the collapse settled into a pattern. Their remaining seven wickets produced only 24 runs between them.

One opener held out longest, battling to the innings' highest score of 25 from 47 balls, but found nobody able to stay with her for long. Run-outs added to the damage, Hinase Goto among those dismissed going for a single.

The scoring rate never recovered from the powerplay. Japan managed 33 runs across their last 13.5 overs, and no partnership after the opening stand looked likely to change the shape of the match.

Support from Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil

Deepti Sharma removed Erika Oda, and Shafali Verma had Shimako Kato caught as India kept the pressure on from either end.

Shreyanka Patil closed the innings, dismissing Nonoha Yasumoto with a ball of the 20th over still unused.

India came into the competition with Charani and Deepti ranked as the two leading bowlers in the T20I list, and the quarter-final gave both of them figures to match the billing.

Bangladesh already waiting in the semi-finals

The winners of this tie know their next opponents. Bangladesh Women went through without playing after rain washed out their quarter-final, one of several results in this round shaped by the weather rather than the cricket.

The other half of the draw produced a straightforward win for Sri Lanka Women, who beat Malaysia Women by 86 runs at the same venue, making 160 for 4 before holding Malaysia to 74 for 7.

What 58 asks of India

India go into the chase as the defending champions, having taken gold at the 2023 edition of the Games, and as winners of a record eighth Women's Asia Cup.

A target of 58 from a full 20 overs leaves the batting order very little to resolve, and the medal round looks like the first real test of a side that has yet to be stretched in Japan.

Scorecard: Japan Women 57 all out in 19.5 overs; India Women 17 for 0 after 1.1 overs, needing 41 more, Asian Games Women's Cricket Competition quarter-final, Korogi Sports Park.

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