India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, were up against Pakistan, led by skipper Fatima Sana, at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, in match 6 of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. Both sides made a change each; India almost had the forced change as Amanjot Kaur was unwell, and Renuka Singh replaced her in the starting 11. Sadaf Shamas replaced Omaima Sohail in the starting 11 for Pakistan.
Richa Ghosh’s cameo lifts India closer to the 250-run mark
The Indian openers, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, found their groove back as an opening duo en route to their 48-run opening stand, after skipper Fatima Sana won the toss and opted to field first. The Indian vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana (23 off 32 balls), was growing in confidence, but the opposition skipper got the better of her in the 9th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for her side.
Harleen Deol joined Pratika Rawal at the crease, and she came out with a positive intent, using the feet and smashing a maximum, early on in her innings, to get going. A quicker arm-ball from Sadia Iqbal got a bit of an extra bounce, taking Pratika Rawal (31 off 37 balls) by surprise as she ended up missing and as a result got cleaned up in the 15th over of the innings to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Pakistan.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Harleen Deol at the crease, and the duo took India past the 100-run mark with a crucial 39-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. An unfortunate strangle down the leg-side ended another confident stay at the crease for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (19 off 34 balls) in the 25th over of the innings. Diana Baig provided the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
Jemimah Rodrigues joined Harleen Deol at the crease, and Jemimah had her share of luck early on in the innings, as she got a feather of an edge and was caught behind when she was on 2 off the bowling of Diana Baig, and it eventually turned out to be a no-ball. The pair were going along nicely through the rebuilding phase en route to their 45-run stand for the 4th wicket, which also took them past the 150-run mark.
A moment of indecision, leading to a half-hearted commitment to a lofted shot from Harleen Deol (46 off 65 balls), the lack of power and elevation resulted in an easy catch to Nashra Sandhu in the deep. Rameen Shamim provided the 4th breakthrough for Pakistan. Twice in two innings, the untimely departure of Harleen Deol provided the opposition an opening to pounce on in this edition. Jemimah Rodrigues (32 off 37 balls) capitalised on an early opportunity to an extent but wasn’t able to carry on deeper into the innings.
The rest of the Indian batters, Deepti Sharma (25 off 33 balls), Sneh Rana (20 off 33 balls), got starts but were unable to convert them into a big score. The lower-order fireworks from Richa Ghosh (35* off 20 balls) propelled India closer to 247 in their quota of overs. The wicket-keeper batter came in with just more than five overs to spare and India at 201/6, when Sneh Rana made her way back into the pavilion. Richa Ghosh’s knock included 3 boundaries and a couple of maximums.
Diana Baig (10-1-69-4), skipper Fatima Sana (10-2-38-2), Sadia Iqbal (10-0-47-2), and Rameen Shamim (10-0-39-1) were impressive with the ball for Pakistan.
Sidra Amin’s fighting fifty in vain as India continues to dominant Pakistan
The surface was tricky, and the batters struggled to get going in the first innings. Defending a fighting total of 247, the Indian new-ball bowlers Renuka Singh and Kranti Goud delivered a masterclass spell with the new ball amidst all the drama early on in terms of decisions not going in India’s favour, added to the fact that Harmanpreet Kaur burned out both their allotted reviews inside the first 12 overs of the run chase.
Both the pacers, Kranti Goud (7-2-12-2) and Renuka Singh (8-1-17-0), got an extended spell, and the tactical masterstroke worked wonders for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, as Pakistan were reduced to 30/3 by the time spin was introduced for the first time in the 16th over of the run chase. Sidra Amin and Natalia Pervaiz led some sort of a recovery with a much-needed 69-run partnership for the 4th wicket, which also took them closer to the 100-run mark.
Re-introduction of Kranti Goud resulted in the departure of Natalia Pervaiz (33 off 46 balls), proving the 4th breakthrough for India in the 28th over of the run chase. A promising 41-run partnership for the 6th wicket between Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz (14 off 22 balls) gave some hope of a fightback before Sneh Rana took a solid low, return catch to dismiss Sidra Nawaz in the 38th over of the run chase to provide the 6th breakthrough for India.
Sneh Rana also went on to put the final nail in the coffin for Pakistan, ensuring the departure of a well-set Sidra Amin (81 off 106 balls) in the 40th over of the run chase. Pakistan were eventually bundled out for 159 in the 43rd over of the innings. The Fatima Sana-led side lost their last five wickets for just 57 runs. India sealed the game by 88 runs.
Kranti Goud (10-3-20-3) finished with exceptional match figures in her spell, which also eventually earned her the Player of the Match to go alongside her cameo (8 off 4 balls) with the bat. Her new-ball partner, Renuka Singh (10-1-29-0), was a bit unlucky not to have a wicket next to her name. The experienced spin duo of Deepti Sharma (9-0-45-3) and Sneh Rana (8-0-38-2) complemented each other well in the contest.
India extended their dominance over Pakistan to make it 12-0 in their head-to-head battles, their 5th straight win against the arch-rivals in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. The win has ensured India climbs to the top of the table.
Loves all things female cricket