Contenders India began their Women’s T20 Asia Cup title defense with a commanding performance, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets on Friday. India bowled out Pakistan for a modest 108 after being asked to field first and then chased down the target with 35 balls to spare.
TOSS
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
Teams Line Up:-
India Women (Playing XI):
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Thakur Singh
Pakistan Women (Playing XI):
Sidra Ameen, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (w), Nida Dar (c), Aliya Riaz, Iram Javed, Fatima Sana, Tuba Hassan, Sadia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu, Syeda Aroob Shah
PAKISTAN:
Vastrakar removes openers cheaply
Power Play: 37/2 [RR: 6.16, 4s: 6]
Pooja Vastrakar continued her excellent form, striking in both her powerplay overs to dismiss Pakistan’s openers early. Despite being hit for a boundary by Gull Feroza, Vastrakar bowled another short ball, which Feroza mis-hit to mid-on. Muneeba Ali, attempting an upper cut, top-edged a short delivery to be caught for a run-a-ball 11. Without the boundaries in the 3rd and 6th overs by Renuka Thakur and Deepti Sharma, Pakistan’s powerplay performance would have been even more lackluster.
Spinners, Renuka make uneasy for Pakistan
Middle overs: 44/4 [RR: 4.89, 4s: 4]
From there, the spinners took control, with Shreyanka Patil striking in her first over. A tossed-up off-break led to Aliya Riaz’s half-hearted flick, resulting in a leading edge caught by Jemimah Rodrigues at midwicket. With Harmanpreet Kaur also bowling spin, Pakistan could only reach 53/3 at the halfway mark. Vastrakar’s economical over upon her return increased the pressure, leading to the dismissal of Pakistan’s captain, Nida Dar, who mistimed a lofted shot to long-on. Renuka Thakur then dismissed Sidra Ameen and trapped Iram Javed LBW on consecutive deliveries in her final over.
India blowers rule at Death Overs.
Death Overs: /4 [RR: 6.24, 4s/6s: 1/2]
Tuba Hassan (19-ball 22) and Fatima Sana (-ball 22*) Pakistan’s most productive partnership of the day, adding 31 runs. Tuba played the aggressor, hitting boundaries off Deepti, Vastrakar, and Shreyanka in consecutive overs before slicing an edge to backward point off Deepti. Syeda Ayoob was run out two balls later, and Nashra Sandhu was caught behind for a first-ball duck, leaving Pakistan at 94/9 by the end of the 18th over. Fatima Sana counter-attacked, hitting Radha Yadav for two sixes to push Pakistan past 100. However, Patil dismissed her last-wicket partner, ending Pakistan’s innings at 108 with four balls remaining.
INDIA
Shafali provides a perfect start
Power Play: 57/0 [RR: 9.5, 4s/6s: 10/1]
Pakistan began with spin, but Shafali Verma quickly punished Sadia Iqbal. She flicked away deliveries on the pads, pulled short balls to midwicket, and expertly cut through the covers. Dar introduced herself to break the partnership, but both Verma and Mandhana hit boundaries to maintain India’s rapid scoring. Fatima Sana’s away-going delivery beat Verma’s push, but overpitched balls on either side were dispatched to the fence. Dar brought in more spin with Tuba Hasan, and Mandhana greeted her with consecutive boundaries before Verma slog-swept one for six, propelling India to 57 in the Power Play.
Mandhana destroys all the chances of Pakistan
Middle Overs: 52/3 [RR: 6.36, 4s: 8]
Nashra Sandhu provided brief respite with a one-run opening over just as fielding restrictions eased, but Mandhana’s assault on Tuba effectively ended Pakistan’s hopes of a comeback. Mandhana, having scored 9 off Tuba in the previous over, hit five boundaries in Tuba’s next over, moving into the 40s and overtaking Verma. Both openers fell to Syeda Aroob while trying to finish the chase quickly—Mandhana for 45 off 31 balls and Verma bowled through the gate. D Hemalatha maintained the momentum, hitting three consecutive boundaries off Sandhu. Although Sandhu took her revenge in her final over, India needed just eight more runs and completed the chase on the first ball of the 15th over.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 108 all out in 19.2 overs (Sidra Ameen 25, Tuba Hassan 22, Fatima Sana 22; Deepti Sharma 3-20, Renuka Thakur 2-14) lost to India 109/3 in 14.1 overs (Smriti Mandhana 45, Shafali Verma 40; Syeda Aroob 2-9) by 7 wickets.