On Friday (July 19), India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets to begin their campaign in the ongoing Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024 on a dominant note. After bowling out Pakistan for just 108 runs, the defending champions chased down the total in just 14.1 overs by losing 3 wickets.
Pakistan captain Nida Dar won the toss and opted to bat first, but neither she nor her teammates could justify the decision. Pakistan were bowled out for just 108 runs in 19.2 overs. No Pakistan batter could reach the 30-run mark, while 7 of them could not even reach double digits.
Fast bowler Pooja Vastrakar gave India a blistering start by sending both Pakistan openers into the powerplay crease. She first dismissed Gull Feroza for 5 before dismissing Muneeba Ali for 11 to reduce Pakistan to 26 for 2 in the fifth over.
Pakistan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals after the departure of the openers. At one point, they were trailing 61 for 6 and even the 100-run mark looked improbable. However, Tuba Hassan and Fatima Sana shared a 31-run stand to bring some respectability to the scoreboard.
Deepti Sharma broke the deadlock by dismissing Hassan for 22. Sana, on the other hand, remained unbeaten on 22 to take her team to a total of over 100. For India, Sharma shined with the ball, taking 3 wickets while Vastrakar, Renuka Singh and Shreyanka Patil picked up 2 wickets each. Sidra Ameen was the top scorer for Pakistan, scoring 25 off 35 balls.
India begins title defence with a win:
In reply, India chased down the total in 15 overs to start with a win. Pakistan’s only chance to get back into the game was to take early wickets, but their hopes were dashed by Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma.
The duo gave India a solid start with the bat. By the end of the powerplay, India had managed 57 runs with Mandhana on 22 and Verma on 35. The partnership finally came to an end in the 10th over when Syeda Aroob Shah dismissed Mandhana for 45.
Later in the 12th over, Shah also dismissed Verma for 40 before Dayalan Hemalathan also got out. Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues then took India home in the 15th over.
Below are some of the reactions to India’s clinical win over Pakistan:
It was a one-sided game from the start. 🇮🇳 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/7Ko3liEV0m
– Gayathri (@Yath_lol) July 19, 2024
Pooja Vastrakar literally had this very moment after 2 consecutive wickets 😂 #indvpak pic.twitter.com/ITugUsqFAY
— mon (@4sacinom) July 19, 2024
Pakistan women’s cricket is inspired by Babar Azam. 😂😂#INDvsPAK #AsiaCup2024 #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/EekMyninMj
– 😎 (@Zimbu12_) July 19, 2024
3 wickets for Deepti Sharma, what a brilliant spell👌 pic.twitter.com/08PxiyEDQb
— Sahil (@cover_pointt) July 19, 2024
– t20 game; is that right? Our Pakistan women’s team is Bangladesh women’s cricket team – #PakistanCricket | #PAKWvINDW pic.twitter.com/P4DWTLkeZZ
– Ahmad Amin Khan (@AhmadAminKhan) July 19, 2024
There is no competition between the Indian and Pakistani women’s teams. Our Indian team is winning one-sidedly. pic.twitter.com/SXkHs8av7t
— V_King_18 (@V_King_18) July 19, 2024
A slap doesn’t hurt sir. Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma look alike 🇮🇳🇵🇰😭😭😭#WomensAsiaCup #INDWvPAKW pic.twitter.com/32IpcrZYq2
– Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 19, 2024
June 9: India’s senior men’s team defeated Pakistan’s senior team in the T20WC
July 13: Indian Legends beat Pakistan Legends
July 19: Indian women’s team defeated Pakistan women’s team
Indian level of dominance 🇮🇳🔥👌🏻#INDvPAK #WomensAsiaCup #ShefaliVerma #INDWvsPAKW pic.twitter.com/Y2OWPTbRLu
— 🏏CricketFeed (@CricketFeedIN) July 19, 2024
At least we won’t lose by 10 wickets like India lost to us in T20 World Cup 2021 🇮🇳🇵🇰🙏🏼#WomensAsiaCup #INDWvPAKW
– Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 19, 2024
India will take on the UAE in their next match, while Pakistan will take on Nepal. Earlier in the day, Nepal thrashed the UAE by 6 wickets in the first match of the tournament. The win is also Nepal’s first in the history of the Asia Cup.