Cricket blues for Team Green as India outshine Pakistan in Women’s T20 World Cup

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur produced a steely 29 to steer her side to a scrappy six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the much anticipated Women’s T20 World Cup clash at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Set 106 to win after restricting Pakistan to 105-8 in their 20 overs, India were looking comfortable at 61-1. But two wickets in two balls by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana opened the door before Kaur took her side to the brink of victory.

With India two runs short, however, she slipped and appeared to rick her neck, leaving the field unbeaten on 29 from 24 balls.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur retired hurt after spraining her neck ICC

Finishing the chase

Sajeevan Sajana hit the winning runs from the next delivery as India closed on 108-4, winning with seven balls to spare.

"We have been very disciplined, followed the plans," said India's Smriti Mandhana.

"In the field we were very good. Better start with the bat would have been good, but we will take that win."

Nida Dar top-scored for Pakistan with 28 from 34 balls but there was little else to cheer after Fatima had won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket that produced some awkward bounce. "We were not up to the mark in the batting. We were 10-15 runs short," said Fatima.

Reddy shines bright

All of the Indian bowlers contributed with Arundhati Reddy the most successful as she removed Omaima Sohail (3) and Aliya Riaz (4) in the middle order before clean bowling Dar in the final over to finish with 3-19 from her four overs.

"I've worked a lot on my T20 bowling in all stages of the innings. I'm still working hard now. I kept it simple and attacked the stumps," said Reddy who was named Player of the Match.

India lost Mandhana for seven but Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues took them to 61 before the second wicket fell in the 12th over. Verma, their impressive 20-year-old opener, struck three fours in a 35-ball 32 before holing out to mid-on.

That gave Pakistan a sniff of a chance but Kaur made sure India made it 13 wins from 16 against Pakistan in T20Is.

Pakistan batting woes continue

Winning the toss did not go in Pakistan’s favor as Sana’s decision to bat first backfired, with her team only scraping together 105 runs while losing 8 wickets in 20 overs.

The innings began poorly for the Green Shirts, losing opener Gull Feroza in the very first over. The situation quickly worsened as Sidra Amin and Sohail followed suit, leaving Pakistan at 33/3 within just seven overs.

Muneeba Ali stepped up to offer a glimmer of hope with her gritty 17-run performance. However, her dismissal by Shreyanka Patil sent the team reeling at 41/4. Things didn’t improve for all-rounder Riaz, who struggled to get going and was dismissed by Reddy without even reaching double digits.

Muneeba Ali after getting stumped in match against India in Women's T20 World Cup 2024 ICC

With the innings in disarray, skipper Sana and Dar tried to restore some stability. But the loss of Sana in the 14th over marked yet another blow. Despite the continuous fall of wickets, Dar (28) valiantly kept the scoreboard moving until her exit in the final over.

Syed Aroob Shah contributed a brisk 14 runs off 17 balls, ultimately guiding Sana's team to a total of 105—far below their ambitions.

Much-needed victory for India

After losing their opening match to New Zealand, this was a much-needed win for India in Group A. They remain fourth in the group, with Pakistan just ahead of them on net run rate (NRR).

India's NRR stood at -2.90 before their crucial WT20 match against Pakistan. To improve their standing in the points table, they needed a significant victory to turn that negative figure into a positive one. While they were unable to achieve that, the victory against Pakistan earned them two crucial points.

They face Sri Lanka in the next game in Dubai on Wednesday while Pakistan meet favourites Australia on Friday. West Indies face Scotland in Sunday's late game in Dubai with both sides having lost their Group B openers.