India got their first points on board with a six-wicket win against Pakistan in the 2nd game of their campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
After a crushing 58-run defeat in their first game against New Zealand led by skipper Sophie Devine, the Women in Blue bounced back in style. Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana won the toss and opted to bat first. They crept through to the three-figure mark, posting a total of 105/8 in their quota of overs. Very few batters managed to enter into double digits. Former skipper Nida Dar (28 off 34 balls) was the lone warrior for Pakistan. Skipper Fatima Sana and Syeda Aroob Shah chipped in with handy contributions towards the end.
Arundhati Reddy (4-0-19-3), and Shreyanka Patil (4-1-12-2) were the top performers with the ball for India. Chasing a target of 106, India struggled to get the ball to the boundary courtesy of tricky, low, and slow conditions. However, they eventually got over the line with six wickets in hand and seven balls to spare to get their first points on the board. Arundhati Reddy was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning (4-0-19-3) spell with the ball.
The Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur suffered an injury scare towards the fag-end of the run chase with just two runs to get in the last 8 balls of the run chase. Harmanpreet danced out of her crease to guide the ball in the gap for a single, however, she ended up missing it completely. In her attempt to get back into the crease, she lost her balance at a full stretch and ended up hurting herself. As a result of the injury, she walked back holding the back of her neck to get further treatment. Sajeevan Sajana replaced her at the crease and finished things off in style with a boundary.
Winning Moment: India vs Pakistan (Women’s T20 World Cup 2024)
2 needed to win and Sajana Sajeevan scores a boundary 👏 #CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup2024 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/KggSYEEZjJ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 6, 2024
India will be sweating on the availability of their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for the rest of the games against Sri Lanka and Australia in the league stages of the tournament.
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