Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, the opening batsmen for India, looked effortless as they put up an 85-run partnership until Syeda Arooba Shah removed Smriti in the tenth over.
At the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Sri Lanka, India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets on Friday to begin their defense of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024 championship.When asked to field, India’s bowlers excelled, limiting Pakistan to a pitiful 108 runs. With three wickets, Deepti Sharma stood out among the group.
A disciplined Pooja Vastrakar removed both openers in the PowerPlay, setting the stage for Pakistan’s nightmares. By stopping the flow of runs in the middle overs, the spinners supported their early efforts.
Fatima Sana and Tuba Hassan shared a 31-run partnership for the seventh wicket, which momentarily stabilized the Pakistani batting. Deepti, though, did a good job getting rid of a well-established Tuba for 22 off 19 balls. In the same over, she also secured Nashra Sandhu for a golden duck.
Pakistan was having trouble reaching a three-digit total until Fatima Sana’s late burst, which included two sixes from Radha Yadav, lifted her team to 108. Shreyanka dismissed Sadia Iqbal to end the innings.
The bowlers had something to be pleased about, but India’s fielding was again beset with errors. India gave up preventable bounds due to mishandling by Renuka, Shafali Verma, and Radha, and this would still need a lot of improvement before the World Cup.Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana made quick work of it, reaching team fifty in the PowerPlay. Especially in the five boundaries she blasted Tuba for in the eighth over, Smriti’s powerful vein of form was on full display.
Pakistan’s first breakthrough came from off-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah, as Smriti was holed out to Aliya Riaz in the very next over. When Aliya caught the ball, she threw it back to the ground in frustration, expressing feelings that the entire team had during the game.
The ball passed past Shafali’s attempt to middle the ball, leaving her stumps in disarray. This was Syeda’s best moment of the game. Dayalan Hemalatha, who maintained a high scoring rate, stumbled while attempting to sprint towards the goal. Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues got the team off to a strong start.
On Sunday, India will play UAE, and Pakistan will play Nepal.
