India finally got off the mark in the ongoing ICC T20 Women’s World Cup 2024 with a resounding six-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (October 6).
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team had started their campaign with a dismal 58-run loss against New Zealand. After New Zealand finished their innings at 160/4, India were bowled out for just 102 runs. After the tough loss, the Women in Blue needed a strong performance against Pakistan and they produced an excellent performance.
Bowling first, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team restricted Pakistan to a modest total of 105/8. Nida Dar was her team’s top scorer, scoring 28 runs in 34 balls. Apart from her, no other batsman from her team could even reach the 20-run mark. For India, Arundhati Reddy picked up three wickets, while Shreyanka Patil claimed two.
With the bat, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team got off to a nervous start. Star batsman Smriti Mandhana could not make an impact with the bat and departed in the fifth over after scoring just 7 runs off 16 balls. Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues then steadied the ship with a 43-run stand.
At 61/1, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team looked set to register a comfortable victory before losing three wickets in quick succession to find themselves reeling at 80/4.
However, Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma took the score past the 100-run mark before the former retired hurt when the team only needed 2 runs. The Indian team finally crossed the finish line in 18.5 overs to open their account in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Qualification scenario for India in T20 World Cup 2024:
With the victory over Pakistan, Harmanpreet & Co. have put their campaign on track. India now has two more matches left in the group stage of the World Cup. They will first face the reigning Asian champions, Sri Lanka, before taking on the defending champions, Australia.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team needs to win both games to remain in a strong position and secure a place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024. Of the five teams in a group, only the top two will advance to the quarter-finals. India can reach a maximum of six points if they win the remaining two matches.
If New Zealand manages to surprise Australia, six points will be enough for the Women in Blue to advance to the next round. However, if all three teams finish with the same points, their fate will be decided by the Net Run Rate (NRR).
In case the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team fails to beat Australia, their hopes will depend on New Zealand losing to Australia and Pakistan or Australia losing to New Zealand and Pakistan. In that situation, two teams will finish with four points and their fate will be decided by NRR.