Ireland out after India loss

India made a return to the last four of the ICC Women's World T20 for the first time since 2010, with a comfortable 52-run win over Ireland.

Another Mithali Raj half-century at the top of the order was the highlight of what was the first ever meeting between the two teams in the T20I format.

On a pitch that showed some turn and variable bounce due to overnight showers, Mithali used all her experience to build a foundation for India. She combined with Smriti Mandhana to post a 67-run opening partnership, of which Mandhana scored 33. The duo helped India set the base for a safe score, but the India innings lost some momentum towards the end, losing their last four wickets for 27 runs, finishing at 145 for six.

After Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues joined Mithali in a 40-run partnership, but no other batter in the top six got into double figures. Mithali reached her fifty in the 18th over, finishing on 51, making her the first woman to score seven T20I fifties in a calendar year. The eventual win, their third in the tournament, which tied them with Australia on six points, was India's seventh consecutive T20I win, their longest streak in the format.

There was little joy in Ireland's chase, which ended on 93 for eight, as only two batters got past single figures, strangled by the slowness of the pitch and the Indian spinners. Wickets fell regularly and then in a heap, as Isobel Joyce top scored with 33. Clare Shillington set a historic mark for Ireland on the way to her 23, becoming the first Irish batter to score more than 1000 T20I runs.

Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said: "Well, it means a lot (to make the semis) because after the Asia Cup final, a lot of things happened back home. Everyone had actually thought that we wouldn't even make it to the semi-finals because we did not even win the Asia Cup.

"But I guess everyone was motivated enough after the Asia Cup that this time, this is the time everyone will be watching, and we have to prove our point. In 2017 we qualified for the final, but that can't be just a one-off."

Ireland's Isobel Joyce said: "If you look at the top Indian players, they play against top bowlers all the time. They have a plan against Ellyse Perry, against all the top bowlers, because they've played them a number of times each year.

"Today's the first time I've played against any of those bowlers in a couple of years. I'm trying to think on my feet, and suddenly it's four or five balls into a spell and a new bowler comes on. That's really where the difficulty lies personally. It's not the nerves."