India booked their place in the super six stage of the qualifying event by thrashing Ireland ©ICC

India booked their place in the super six stage of the qualifying event for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's Cricket World Cup as they thrashed Ireland by 125 runs at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo.

The Indian team dominated the Group A clash from start to finish as Thirush Kamini scored an unbeaten 113 to help her side post a formidable 250-2 from their 50 overs.

Kamini was involved in an opening stand of 174 with Deepti Sharma, who was eventually out for 89.

In reply, Ireland never got going and were skittled out for 125, with leg-spinner Poonam Yadav taking 3-30.

"Getting a hundred for India is always special," Kamini said. 

"It was really satisfying to get runs today when the team required a good opening partnership. 

"The ball was not coming on to the bat later in the innings so getting runs was not easy. 

"I’d gone into the match aiming to get runs at a fair pace and succeeded in that."

Pakistan enjoyed a similarly dominant win in Group B as they beat Papua New Guinea by a mammoth 236 runs at the Nondescripts Cricket Club ground.

Zimbabwe picked up their first win of the tournament by beating Thailand ©ICC
Zimbabwe picked up their first win of the tournament by beating Thailand ©ICC

The pre-match favourites looked set to earn a comfortable victory when centuries from Ayesha Zafar and Javeria Khan guided them to a total of 276-5.

Zafar retired on 115 not out, while Khan scored 100, leaving Papua New Guinea chasing an unlikely 277 for what would have been a remarkable triumph.

The Pacific nation never got close and were bowled out for just 40, with spinner Nashra Sandhu the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with figures of 5-11.

Rumana Ahmed performed admirably with bat and ball, scoring 38 runs and taking 2-23 as Bangladesh overcame Scotland by seven wickets in Group A.

Scotland had set Bangladesh a target of 141 after off-spinners Khadija Tul Kabra and Salma Khatun claimed three wickets apiece to limit their scoring.

The Asian side needed just 37.3 overs to knock off the required runs as Fargana Hoque top-scored with 53 not out.

In the other Group B encounter to take place today,  Zimbabwe registered their first win, beating Thailand by 36 runs.

Zimbabwe managed 191-8 from their 50 overs and their Thai opponents fell short, thanks largely to the exploits of Nomatter Mutasa, who finished with figures of 4-28.

The top four teams from the competition in Sri Lanka will qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup in England between June 24 and July 23.