In an exciting match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup held in Dubai, India Women beat Pakistan Women by 6 wickets with 7 balls remaining. India chased down a target of 106 runs set by Pakistan and finished the game at 108/4 in 18.5 overs.
Pakistan Women Innings
Pakistan Women won the toss and chose to bat first. Their innings didn’t get off to a great start as they lost Gull Feroza for a duck in the very first over. Opener Muneeba Ali managed to score 17 runs off 26 balls before she was stumped by wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh off the bowling of Shreyanka Patil. Pakistan’s top-order struggled, with Sidra Amin contributing just 8 runs, and Omaima Sohail and Aliya Riaz adding 3 and 4 runs respectively.
Captain Nida Dar was the top scorer for Pakistan, making 28 runs off 34 balls, but she didn’t get enough support from the middle and lower order. Fatima Sana hit a quick 13 runs off 8 balls, including two boundaries, but the wickets kept falling. Arundhati Reddy was the standout bowler for India, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs. Shreyanka Patil also took 2 wickets, and Pakistan finished their 20 overs at 105/8.
India Women’s Chase
India’s innings started with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana opening the batting. Mandhana couldn’t make much impact and got out for just 7 runs, caught by Tuba Hassan off Sadia Iqbal. However, Shafali Verma held her ground and scored a steady 32 runs off 35 balls, hitting 3 boundaries.
Jemimah Rodrigues added 23 runs from 28 balls, and Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, played an important knock of 29 runs off 24 balls before retiring hurt. India faced a few challenges when Richa Ghosh was dismissed for a duck, but Deepti Sharma (7 not out) and Sajeevan Sajana (4 not out) guided India home with ease. India reached the target of 106 runs in 18.5 overs.
For Pakistan, Fatima Sana got the maximum two wickets, on the other hand, Sadia Iqbal and Omaima Sohail got one wicket each.
For the outstanding bowling display of 3 wickets for 19 runs, Arundhati Reddy received the man of the match.
