Pakistan faced defeat against India in a much-anticipated match at the Dubai International Stadium during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.
The Blue Shirts were set a target of 106 runs by the Fatima Sana-led team, which managed to score only 105 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
India’s innings began with Shafali Verma and the ever-reliable Smriti Mandhana as openers. They started strong, accumulating 18 runs in 4.1 overs, but Mandhana was dismissed by Sadia Iqbal on the next ball of the same over. Following her exit, Verma partnered with Jemimah Rodrigues, reaching the 50-run mark for India on the last ball of the 10th over. At this point, India required 56 runs from 60 balls to secure victory.
Earlier, Pakistan’s captain Sana won the toss and opted to bat first, confident in the abilities of her bowlers. Muneeba and Gull Feroza opened for Pakistan, but Feroza was bowled out for a duck in just 0.6 overs.
Sidra Amin came in next, contributing eight runs off 11 balls. Pakistan struggled at the start, finding themselves at 41/3 within 8.5 overs. Aroob Shah and Nashra Sandhu concluded the innings at 105/8, setting a target that was defendable for Pakistan’s skilled bowlers yet easily chaseable for the aggressive Indian batsmen.
India Playing XI:
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.
Pakistan Playing XI:
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.
