- A highly anticipated match took place at the Dubai International Stadium.
- India returns to the stage after their defeat against New Zealand.
- The green shirts lose their first match after Sri Lanka’s victory.
DUBAI: An all-round batting and bowling performance from India helped them beat Pakistan by six wickets as they registered their first victory in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Indian batters chased down a modest target of 106 runs in 18.5 overs, with Shafali Verma top scorer with 32 runs off 35 balls.
India had a shaky start to their chase as experienced opener Smriti Mandhana (7 off 16) fell prey to Sadia Iqbal in the fourth over of the match.
Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues then attempted to sort things out with a careful partnership of 43 leaders. However, the opener was dismissed by Omaima Sohail with the scoreboard reading 61 for 2 in almost 12 overs.
A glimmer of hope was lit in the 16th over when captain Fatima Sana got two wickets in two consecutive deliveries, sending Rodrigues and wicketkeeper-hit Richa Ghosh back to the pavilion.
However, captain Harmanpreet Kaur held her nerve and played a captain’s innings of 29 off 34 balls before bowing out injured, with India needing just four runs to win.
Sajeevsn Sajna scored the winning runs as she and Deepti Sharma remained unbeaten with four and seven runs respectively.
For Pakistan, skipper Sana returned with bowling figures of 2-23, while Iqbal and Sohail claimed a scalp each.
Earlier, Fatima Sana’s decision to bat first backfired as her team could only accumulate 105/8 in the allotted 20 overs.
The Greenshirts got off to a disastrous start to the round, losing opener Gull Feroza in the first round of the match.
Later, Sidra Amin and Omaima Sohail perished in seven overs with the scoreboard reading 33/3.
After the early debacle, Muneeba Ali put up a fight with her cautious knock of 17 runs before falling victim to Shreyanka Patil, leaving Pakistan in tatters at 41/4.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Aliya Riaz also failed to reach double figures as she fell victim to Arundhati Reddy.
Skipper Sana and Nida Dar then tried to sort things out, resulting in the former being sacked in 14th place.
Pakistan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, while Dar (28) single-handedly ticked off the scoreboard until finally returning to cover in the final over. Syed Aroob Shah scored a fourteen of 17, taking the Sana-led side to 105.
Reddy bagged three wickets and Patil took two while Renuka Singh, Deepti Sharma and Asha Sobhana struck out one batter each.
Dar remained Pakistan’s top scorer with a 28 from 34 balls.
Pakistan team: Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah and Tuba Hassan.
Indian team: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil and Sajana Sajeevan.