Shafali Verma bullied an inexperienced Malaysian attack with a sparkling 39-ball-67 as India entered the semi-final of the women’s cricket event at the Asian Games by virtue of better ICC rankings after Thursday’s quarter-final was abandoned due to rain.

The match was reduced to 15 over-a-side affair and India scored an imposing 173-2, courtesy Shafali, skipper Smriti Mandhana’s 27 off 16 balls, Jemimah Rodrigues’ 29-ball-47. Richa Ghosh’s 7-ball-21 cameo was like a cherry on top of the cake.