Poonam Raut's unbeaten 50 and Shikha Pandey's three-wicket haul helped India Women beat Ireland Women by 26 runs in their last warm-up game before the ICC World Twenty20 2014 in Savar on Friday (March 21).

Deciding to bat first at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan No 4 Ground, India made 148 for 4 in its 20 overs, and then restricted Ireland to 129 for 9.

India's innings got off to a flying start as Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana put on 59 runs in 7.4 overs before Lucy O'Reilly had Raj caught behind for 42. Raj hit seven fours in her 34-ball innings.

Ireland, though, clawed its way back, with Pandey bowled by Elena Tice and Mandhana run out for 20. India stuttered to 75 for 3 in 10 overs, but Raut and Soniya Dabir added 43 runs in 6.2 overs after that.

Although Louise McCarthy sent Dabir back for 15, it did little to deter Raut from playing her shots. She was particularly severe on O'Reilly, whom she hit for 21 runs in 10 balls.

Ireland started its chase steadily, with Clare Shillington and Emma Flanagan putting together 61 runs in 11 overs. Though the partnership was impressive, Flanagan managed only 16 in 29 balls before retiring out.

Ireland ran out of steam thereafter as wickets fell at regular intervals. Pandey had Shillington caught by Madhuri Mehta for 47 and removed Melissa Scott-Hayward and Isobel Joyce to return figures of 3 for 24. Dabir then chipped in with two wickets to derail Ireland's chase as India finished its warm-ups on a positive note.