In a highly anticipated clash, India comfortably defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan by six wickets in 18.5 overs, marking a significant win in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The match, however, began under challenging circumstances, with fans facing enormous traffic jams and chaos as they arrived at the stadium. This clash was the 100th T20I hosted by Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with 92 men’s games.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first, managing to post a total of 105 runs for eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Nida Dar emerged as the top scorer for Pakistan, contributing 28 runs, while Muneeba Ali added 17. The rest of the batting lineup struggled to make an impact, with no other player reaching a score of 20. The Pakistani innings crumbled, akin to a house of cards, as India’s bowlers delivered a stellar performance. Arundhati Reddy shone with the ball, claiming three wickets, while Shreyanka Patil took two, and Renuka Singh, Deepti Sharma, and Asha Shobana each contributed with one wicket.
Chasing a modest target of 106, India faced a few hurdles, wrapping up the match with 6 wickets in hand. The innings concluded with Sajeevan Sajana hitting a boundary to seal the victory in style. Harmanpreet Kaur displayed fierce determination among the Indian batters before walking off retired hurt, a decision that raised concerns over India’s run rate as they eye a spot in the semi-finals.
Despite the comfortable win, the match slowed, leaving doubts about its impact on India’s net run rate. The batting order for Pakistan faltered dramatically, and the team’s overall performance reflected a lack of stability. Gul Firoza fell for a duck, while Sidra Amin and Omaima Sohail could only manage eight and three runs, respectively.
In another notable aspect, this match marked only the second instance of India failing to hit a boundary in the powerplay during women’s T20Is, with both occurrences occurring against Pakistan in the World Cup— the first being in the 2016 edition.
Looking ahead, India will face Sri Lanka on Wednesday, October 9th, at the Dubai International Stadium, where they will hope to build on this victory and enhance their chances for a strong run in the tournament. While answering exclusively to 1XBAT Cricket Predicta, Arundhati reflected on her previous best performance, expressing her determination to be an integral part of the team as an all-rounder, saying, “Yes, I wanted to be a part of the team and as an all-rounder, so I worked hard on myself.” When Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana was asked about the three-month delay in the women’s team salary, she firmly responded, “This question belongs to the Pakistan Cricket Board, not me. You have to ask PCB.” On the team’s performance, Fatima added, “We batted deep, we gave our best, but it was not enough.”
Brief Scores: Pakistan: 105/8 in 20 overs (Nida Dar 28; Shreyanka Patil 2/12, Arundhati Reddy 3/19).
India: 106/4 in 18.5 overs (Shafali Verma 32, Harmanpreet Kaur retired hurt 29; Fatima Sana 2/23).
