India Women Rout Japan by 90 Balls to Spare, Charani's 800-Point Milestone Caps Dominant Run

India Women thrashed Japan by eight wickets in their Asian Games quarter-final, sealing victory with a record 90 balls to spare to book a semi-final date with Bangladesh on September 20.

Put in to bowl after winning the toss, India ran through Japan's batting with a disciplined spin display, with Shree Charani the standout performer, returning superb figures of 4 for 10 from her four overs. Shafali Verma chipped in with two wickets, while Shreyanka Patil and Deepti Sharma took one apiece as the hosts were bowled out for just 57 in 19.5 overs, with only Ayaka Kato-Stafford's 25 offering any real resistance.

India made light work of the modest target, racing to 59 for 2 in just five overs. Shafali Verma provided the fireworks with an unbeaten 40 off 15 balls, striking four fours and two sixes, and fittingly sealed the win with a six over long-on. The margin of 90 balls remaining stands as India's largest-ever victory by balls remaining in Women's T20I history.

The win came on the back of a landmark individual milestone for Charani, who recently became the first Indian woman to cross 800 rating points in the ICC Women's T20I bowling rankings, reaching a career-best 804 following her four-wicket haul in the Asia Cup final win over Sri Lanka, surpassing Mithali Raj's previous Indian record of 780 points.