India began its Women’s Asia Cup campaign with a convincing 7-wicket win over archrivals Pakistan at Dambulla on Friday night.
Asked to bowl first, Pooja Vastrakar stuck in the very second over. Thereafter, India dominated with the ball and ensured that wickets fell at regular intervals.
With contributions from Renuka Singh (2/14), Pooja Vastrakar (2/31), Deepti Sharma (3/20) and Shreyanka Patil (2/14), India bowled out Pakistan for a paltry 108.
Speedy run-chase
With a modest total on the board, the opening pair of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana threw caution to the wind and stepped on the gas from the word go.
When Verma 40 (29) and Mandhana 45 (31) were dismissed, the game was in the bag for India.
A comfortable win for #TeamIndia as they beat Pakistan by 7 wickets with 5.5 overs to spare and begin #AsiaCup campaign with the W 🔥
Smriti: 45 (31)
Shafali: 40 (29)
Deepti: 3/20#CricketTwitter #INDvPAK #WomensAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/SuDv8m6vvw
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) July 19, 2024
Mandhana leads the pack
With her knock today, Mandhana went past skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to emerge as the highest run scorer for Indian in women’s T20I.
The southpaw now has 3,365 runs in 137 matches.
Another 🪶 in Smriti Mandhana’s cap!
The stylish left-hander has become the HIGHEST RUN-SCORER for 🇮🇳India in women’s T20Is, going past Harmanpreet Kaur.
Smriti Mandhana ~ 🔺3365 runs in 132 innings
Harmanpreet Kaur ~ 🔻3344 runs in 150 innings#CricketTwitter #AsiaCup… pic.twitter.com/Og2Tg6pulT
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) July 19, 2024
Meanwhile, Shafali Verma, with a solitary six in the match, has the most number of sixes in Women’s Asia Cup (7).
Speaking after the match, Kaur said the goal was to play fearless cricket.
“Our bowlers and openers did the job. The first game is always a pressure game that sets the tone. Our entire unit played really well. When we were bowling, we were talking about early breakthroughs. With the bat, credit goes to Smriti and Shafali. We want to keep playing fearless cricket,” she said.
For her spell of 3/20, Deepti Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match.
“I am feeling really good as I could deliver as per the plan. I had the belief. As a unit, we are doing well for the last few months. The camps we have had helped a lot. I worked on my bowling after the South Africa series, so that helped. Nida Dar is a good batter, so her wicket was important,” she said.
What’s next
India next play the UAE on the 21s of July.
Incidentally, the UAE suffered a 6-wicket defeat to Nepal earlier in the day.