India women defeated the neighboring country Pakistan in their 2nd match of ongoing ICC T20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday (06 October) to register their first win in the tournament. India beat Pakistan by 6 wickets and seven balls to spare at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
Chasing the target of 106, opener Shafali Verma led the way with a solid 32, while Jemimah Rodrigues added 23 runs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur overcame a mini-collapse in which India lost two wickets in as many deliveries with the score at 80. The skipper stayed unbeaten at 29, but was forced to retire hurt with only two runs to win. Kaur injured her neck after she lost balance while attempting to hit the winning runs.
Earlier, the bowlers performed outstandingly, restricting Pakistan to 105/8 in 20 overs. Pacer Arundhati Reddy led India’s bowling attack with 3/19, winning her Player of the Match award. Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil did not let batters to settle, recording figures of 2/12 in four overs, including a maiden. Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, and Asha Sobhana picked up 1 wicket each. Pakistan’s Nida Dar hit a 34-ball 28 after being reduced to 41/4 in 10 overs. Captain Fatima Sana and Syeda Shah made a little comeback to help their team to reach the 100 runs score.
This was India’s first win in the tournament after a disappointing performance against New Zealand, where the team lost by 58 runs. With the defeat, India needs to win all their upcoming matches in the group stage to advance to the semi-final. They will face Sri Lanka women on October 9 and defending champions Australia on October 13.
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Source: ET