Asian Games: Sree Charani stuns Japan with career-best 4/10
What's the story
The Indian women's cricket team, the reigning gold medalists at the Asian Games, has made a strong start in their quarter-final match against hosts Japan. The Indian bowlers were on fire, with Sree Charani leading the charge. The top-ranked WT20I bowler picked up a stunning four-wicket haul as she helped India restrict Japan to a mere 57/10 in 19.5 overs at Nisshin's Korogi Sports Park.
Bowling brilliance
Second consecutive 4-fer for Charani
Charani, a young left-arm spinner, delivered an exceptional bowling performance.
She finished with career-best figures of 4/10 in her four overs, wreaking havoc on the Japanese batting lineup.
The 22-year-old trapped opener Haruna Iwasaki to draw the first blood before decimating the middle and lower order.
This is her second consecutive four-wicket haul after she had claimed 4/20 against Sri Lanka in the final match of the Women's Asia Cup 2026.
Team effort
Other bowlers also played a crucial role
Apart from Charani, other Indian bowlers also played a key role in this match.
Shafali Verma claimed two wickets. Meanwhile, Shreyanka Patil, who was returning from an ankle injury, and Deepti Sharma chipped in with one wicket each.
Their collective effort ensured that Japan's innings ended at just 57 runs.
Stats
Golden run in 2026
The one against Japan was Charani's third four-wicket haul across 21 WT20Is in 2026, as per Cricinfo.
With this spell, the Indian became the first bowler from a Full Member nation to complete 40 WT20I wickets in a calendar year.
She has now raced to 43 scalps at an average of 10.93 and an economy rate of 5.92.
Thailand's Thipatcha Putthawong (56 in 2025) and Rwanda's Henriette Ishimwe (50 in 2024) are the only bowlers with more WT20I scalps in a year.
Information
Here are her WT20I stats
From 31 WT20I matches, Charani now owns 58 scalps at 13.08. Her ER reads 6.53. Overall, she now owns four four-fers in the format, with the 4/10 against Japan being her career-best figures. This was her maiden outing against Japan.