India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 opener at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday.
Opting to bat first, Pakistan posted 149 runs on the scoreboard before India chased down the target in 19 overs.
Jemimah Rodrigues was the star for India as she put on a great display, scoring 53 runs off 38 balls to help her side reach the total.
The right-handed batter completed the chase by hitting two consecutive fours.
Openers Yastika Bhatia and Shafali Verma scored 17 and 33 runs, respectively.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur could only score 16 runs before getting out to Nashra Sandhu, who claimed two wickets.
After the captain’s departure, in-form Jemimah partnered up with Richa Gosh to put on a 53-run partnership for the fourth wicket to complete a magnificent run-chase, which was the second-highest chase in Women’s T20 World Cup.
For Pakistan, apart from Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal took a wicket.
Earlier, skipper Bismah Maroof and Ayesha Naseem shined as Pakistan posted a competitive 149 runs on the scoreboard against India.
Pakistan were reduced to 43-3 in 7.3 overs, but Bismah rose to the occasion and smashed 68 runs off 55 balls, including seven boundaries.
The left-handed looked for a partnership, but Nida Dar and Sidra Ameen couldn’t stay at the crease for long.
However, Ayesha’s arrival at the crease was good for Bismah and the side as they managed to stitch an 81-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Ayesha smashed a blistering 43 runs off 25 balls, laced up with two maximums and an equal number of boundaries.
For India, Radha Yadav took two wickets, while Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma secured a scalp each.
