New Delhi: India triumphed over Pakistan by seven wickets in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup match in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, on Friday, July 19. Opting to bat first, Pakistan were restricted to 108, with experienced spinner Deepti Sharma (3/20) emerging as the standout bowler.
On a dry pitch, the Indian bowlers shone with a top-notch performance, bowling out Pakistan for a modest 108. In reply, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana shared an 85-run opening stand off just 57 balls, propelling India to chase down the target effortlessly. Shafali (45) and Smriti (40) feasted on loose bowling from Pakistan, hitting boundaries aplenty to ensure India chased down the total with seven wickets in hand and 35 balls remaining. The Power-play phase set the tone: Pakistan lost three wickets, while India didn’t lose any.
Chasing 109, Shafali began by whipping Sadia Iqbal for a four through deep backward square leg, while Smriti started with an easy flick off Fatima Sana for a boundary. Shafali pulled and cut Sadia for two easy boundaries, before welcoming Nida Dar with a sweep through square leg for four.
Smriti went on the backfoot to punch wide of cover-point for a boundary, followed by Shafali lofting and leaning forward to unleash a copybook straight drive off Fatima for a brace of fours. Smriti welcomed Tuba Hassan with a punch and pull for two more fours, while Shafali swept powerfully for a six as India ended the Power-play at 57/0. Tuba came under further attack in the eighth over as Smriti swept her for another four, followed by lofting twice, paddling, and flicking with ease to take four more boundaries, accumulating 21 runs off the over. From there, the only question was who would reach their half-century first.
However, Smriti fell five runs short of her fifty when she didn’t get the elevation on a lofted shot and was caught at mid-wicket. Dayalan Hemalatha, back at number three, hit a hat-trick of boundaries off Nashra Sandhu.
Like Smriti, Shafali didn’t reach her fifty as Syeda Aroob Shah bowled her through the gate for 45. Nashra returned to have Hemalatha mistime her loft and be caught at cover-point. Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues knocked off the remaining runs, getting India’s campaign off to a winning start.
Earlier, Deepti bowled exceptionally well in the middle overs to be the pick of India’s bowlers. For Pakistan, it was a disappointing batting performance, struggling to maintain a steady tempo in their innings, resulting in only four batters reaching double figures. The lack of partnerships and inability to rotate strike meant they couldn’t break free from the pressure imposed by the Indian bowlers, as Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 47 runs.
Electing to bat first, Pakistan suffered an early jolt when Gull Feroza’s top edge on a pull was caught by mid-on off Pooja. The all-rounder returned in the fourth over to claim Muneeba Ali with another short ball that she miscued to cover.
Post the Power-play, Pakistan’s woes continued as Shreyanka got a loopy off-break to dip in and take the leading edge off Aliya Riaz’s flick to mid-wicket. After Nida Dar holed out to long-on off Deepti, things worsened for Pakistan as Renuka had Sidra Amin slicing to backward point and Iram Javed trapped lbw on consecutive deliveries.
Tuba Hassan stepped up to hit three boundaries in her 19-ball 22 before slicing off Deepti to backward point in the 18th over, followed by the off-spinner having Nashra nick behind after Aroob was run out.
Fatima Sana took Pakistan past the 100-run mark by slog-sweeping Radha Yadav for a brace of sixes. But Shreyanka ended Pakistan’s innings by castling Sadia as they folded up for 108 with four balls left unused.
