LONDON:
India made the perfect start to their women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a 64-run win against arch rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s side dominated from start to finish in their opening group game of the tournament at Edgbaston.
After India elected to bat first, opener Smriti Mandhana was the catalyst for the victory as she survived two drops to hit 68 from 44 balls.
Mandhana blasted nine fours and two sixes, while Kaur notched four fours in her innings of 36.
Wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh kept the pressure on Pakistan’s overwhelmed bowlers with a quick-fire 34 featuring five fours and a six.
Pakistan’s run chase looked a daunting task and so it proved as they crumbled against India’s spinners.
All-rounder Deepti Sharma finished with impressive figures of 5-10.
She pushed Pakistan towards defeat by running out opener Muneeba Ali, who top scored for Pakistan with 41.
Sharma also dismissed Gull Feroza and Ayesha Zafar to leave Pakistan in disarray before leg-spinner Sree Charani turned the screw with three wickets.
Pakistan slumped from 75-3 to 79-6 and Sharma delivered the knockout blow when she removed Nashra Sundhu and Tasmia Rubab.
“Thank you so much to all the fans who came out to support us today, we are so grateful. Whenever we need a performance, Smriti and Deepti are always there for us to push us forward,” Kaur said.
“It was a good pitch. We were under pressure in the Powerplay but my partnership with Smriti got us back in control.
“Every game is important. We are very happy with this start. We know that net run rate might help us towards the end of the group games.”
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana added: “We are very disappointed with the batting performance. We’ve got to improve quickly because there is still a long way to go in the tournament.
“We are a young team, we are getting used to these situations.
“Catches win matches. Unfortunately it was senior players dropping catches and we need to get better. That cost us the match.”
The latest showdown between the bitter neighbours set a new attendance record for a group stage match at the women’s T20 World Cup.
A crowd of 18,814 surpassed the previous record of 15,935, set during India’s clash with Pakistan in Dubai in 2024.
In Sunday’s other match, Bangladesh survived a scare from the Netherlands in a six-wicket win at Edgbaston.
The Dutch were held to 139-8, with captain Babette de Leede top scoring on 50.
Bangladesh openers Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter Dola (26) put on 67 to kick-start the chase and, although a collapse left them in trouble at 85-4, the victory was sealed off the first ball of the final over.