The Indian women’s team has started with a win in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024. In the second match of the tournament, Harmanpreet Kaur and company defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets. First, the Indian bowlers bowled economically and restricted Pakistan to 108 runs. After this, the brilliant partnership of Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma ensured the victory of Team India.

Indian bowlers restricted Pakistan to 108 runs

After winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan could not play the full 20 overs and was all out for 108 runs. Sidra Amin scored the highest 25 runs for the team. Tuba Hasan and Fatima Sana contributed 22-22 runs respectively.

The team had a very bad start and in the second over, Pooja Vastrakar sent Firoza (5) to the pavilion. After this, Pooja gave Pakistan another blow in the form of Muniba Ali (11) in the fourth over. After the early dismissal of both the openers, the Indian bowlers looked dominant and took wickets at regular intervals.

For India, Deepti Sharma took 3 wickets, while Renuka Thakur Singh, Pooja Vastrakar and Shreyanka Patil took 2 wickets each.

India achieved the target in 14.1 overs

In response, the Indian team won by scoring 109 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 14.1 overs. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma batted brilliantly in the powerplay and added 57 runs. Mandhana was moving fast towards the half-century, but missed it. She was out after scoring 45 runs in 31 balls, which included 9 fours.

Shefali and Mandhana shared an 85-run partnership for the first wicket and kept Pakistan away from victory. After Mandhana, Shefali Verma also returned to the pavilion in the 12th over after scoring 40 runs in 29 balls. She hit 6 fours and a six in her innings. Dayalan Hemalatha contributed 14 runs. After this, India did not lose any more wickets. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur (5*) and Jemima Rodrigues (3*) led the team to victory.

Deepti Sharma received the Player of the Match award

All-rounder Deepti Sharma bowled brilliantly in the middle overs. She took three important wickets for 20 runs in her four-over spell. She first dismissed captain Nida Dar (8). After this, she took the big wicket of Tuba Hasan. Then in the 18th over, she sent Nashra Sandhu to the pavilion without opening the account. She received the Player of the Match award for her brilliant bowling.