In front of a sold-out crowd in Birmingham on Sunday, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma came through with bat and ball, respectively, to propel India to a decisive opening victory over Pakistan.
India went from 18 for 2 to 170, their greatest score in a T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, thanks to Mandhana's top-scoring 68. After Pakistan's openers quickly rattled 38, Deepti struck twice in two overs.
However, Deepti's spectacular performance, a direct shot from short third to dismiss the dangerous Muneeba Ali for 41, caused a collapse from which Pakistan was unable to fully recover. As India's spinners tightened their hold, they lost 5 for 26 during the middle phase. Deepti finished with 5 for 10 to become the top wicket-taker in women's Twenty20 Internationals, but she was ultimately bowled out for 106.
India's victory in the final overs proved to be the difference in a game where both teams lost several chances on the field. Richa Ghosh hammered 34 off 17 during last week's warm-ups, allaying concerns about a form downturn. When it appeared that India would end around 150, they managed to muscle 60 off the final six overs, thanks to a run of four fours and a six off her final eight legal deliveries.
This gave India a huge net run rate cushion in what is being referred to as the "group of death" in addition to helping them end on a high note.
India falters early
Early on, India appeared to be going hard. In an attempt to create a boundary opportunity, Shafali Verma hit her opening ball for six but was caught behind four balls later by left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal. In the fourth over, left-arm seamer Tasmia Rubab was dismissed off her second delivery on her World Cup debut after Jemimah Rodrigues played an unusual swipe and was collected at cover. India needed to stop early damage at 18 for 2.
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| India was stabilised by Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur |
Mandhana profits from good fortune
In the fifth over, Mandhana blasted two boundaries off spinner Rameem Shamim to partially offset the early pressure. To prevent Rubab from taking a second wicket, Aliya Riyaz dropped Mandhana's running back from mid-off when she was on 27. At 44 for 2 in the eighth over, India was having trouble gaining momentum at that point.
Harmanpreet Kaur took her time settling in, hitting 5 off 10 at one point, while Fatima Sana rustled through the middle overs with spin. However, Harmanpreet smashed left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu for two boundaries in her opening over, forcing a small adjustment in strategy as India scored 24 in overs 7-10.
Mandhana was especially good at stepping out and smashing inside-out over cover; she reached a half-century off of 34 balls with one such boundary. She was later reprieved for the second time by Saira Jabeen off Iqbal at deep midwicket. You felt as though the floodgates had really opened.
India falters in front of the Ghosh fireworks
Mandhana gave Pakistan a lifeline by hitting out to long-on for 68. Three balls later, Iqbal took the lead as Bharti Fulmali was stumped, turning it into double delight. India had lost 3 for 14 when Harmanpreet flicked Fatima Sana to deep square. After that, India went 21 balls without a boundary before the final two overs saw a deluge of runs.
After Rubab entered her final over with figures of 3-0-17-1, Ghosh smacked her for 4, 6, 4, 4 in a 23-run over, sending her to the cleaners. Ghosh demonstrated her strength in the leg-side arc between mid-on and deep midwicket in the penultimate over, and her exquisite touches helped India finish with momentum by pocketing 15 off the final over.
Muneeba is lucky
When Muneeba jabbed at a quick turner from offie Shreyanka Patil in the second over, she should have been out, but Ghosh missed a chance. Then, in the fourth over, Arundhati Reddy knocked down a simple opportunity after Shreyanka tricked her in flight to slice a drive to point. Muneeba walked over to scoop in between, throwing Kranti Gaud off her feet. As Pakistan quickly reached 37 for 0 in four overs, she was also adept at cutting and picking length.
Deepti delves further
In an attempt to create a boundary, Deepti had Gul Feroza caught at point off a reverse sweep after stringing together three dots after being inserted in the fifth over. She had Ayesha Zafar swipe one straight to Mandhana in her second over, the seventh, and Mandhana got her hands well underneath the ball at short fine leg.
India's spinners tightened their hold over the next six overs, taking 4 for 21 as Pakistan lost the best players in their middle order. Apart from Deepti, Shree Charani performed admirably in her T20 World Cup debut, taking 3 for 21 in the middle overs. In the 17th over, Deepti finished the match with three wickets in her fourth over, delivering India a decisive victory and earning Player of the Match.
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