Women's T20 World Cup, India vs Ireland Highlights: Smriti Mandhana shines as India beat Ireland by 5 runs (DLS) to qualify for semis

Chasing a competitive 157-run target, Ireland, who were already out of semi-final contention, were 54 for 2 in 8.2 overs when rain stopped the proceedings. The match was called-off after a wait of an hour or so, paving way for India to progress further in the tournament.As it happened: India vs IrelandWith the victory, India finished the group stage with six points from four games. Currently, they are in second position in Group B, behind England (six points from three games), who have a better net run rate at this moment. England will play Pakistan on Tuesday in their final group game, which will decide the final positioning in the group. India will play Australia in the semi-final if they finish second in the group standings.

Earlier, Mandhana (87 off 56 balls) and Shafali Verma (24 off 29) helped India post 155 for 6 in their 20 overs.Ireland's run chase then got off to a disastrous start, losing two wickets in the very first over bowled by in-form pacer Renuka Thakur Singh. Opener Amy Hunter was run out off the first ball, while going for a second run. Four balls later, Renuka clean bowled Orla Prendergast to reduce Ireland to 1 for 2 in 0.5 overs.Gaby Lewis (32 not out off 25) and skipper Laura Delany (17* off 20) added a valuable fifty-run stand to resurrect the Ireland run chase, before the rain came to play spoilsport. Play did not resume thereafter.At that point, Ireland needed 102 runs in 70 balls and were five runs behind the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score of 59.

This is India's third successive semifinal appearance following the one in 2018 and runners-up finish in 2020. With the win, last edition's runners-up India bounced back from the 11-run defeat to England in their previous match.After opting to bat