World Cup Qualifiers: India eves drub Pakistan to storm into the final

Ekta Bisht’s five-for helps India register a one-sided victory over the arch-rivals in Colombo on Sunday

Ekta Bisht’s five-for helped India eves get the better of Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday.

The Indian women’s cricket team continued its unbeaten run at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers by advancing to the final with a seven-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan here on Sunday.

India bundled out Pakistan for a meagre 67 in 43.4 overs after asking them to bat upon winning the toss. The team then achieved the target in just 22.3 overs, scoring 70-3 to post a comprehensive win which helped it top the Super 6 table.

Ekta Bisht shone for India with an impressive five-wicket haul, finishing with brilliant figures of 10-7-8-5. Shikha Pandey (2/09) too chipped in with a couple of wickets. The two bowlers ran through the Pakistani batting line-up, as they kept losing wickets regularly and only two Pakistani batters could reach the double-digit mark.

Chasing a modest target, India rode on responsible knocks from Deepti Sharma (29 not out) and Harmanpreet Kaur (24) to reach the target with 165 balls to spare. Deepti and Harmanpreet put on a solid 42 runs together for the third wicket.

For Pakistan, Sadia Yousuf claimed two wickets by giving away 19 runs. Virender Sehwag congratulated the Indian women’s team for beating the arch-foes. “Congratulations @BCCIWomen for defeating Pakistan by 7 wickets in Women’s World Cup qualifier 2017 #IndvPak . Ab to Aadat Si Hai !,” wrote Sehwag on his Twitter handle.

Brief scores: Pakistan 67 in 43.4 overs (Ayesha Zafar 19; Ekta Bisht 5/08, Shikha Pandey 2/09). India 70-3 in 22.3 overs (Deepti Sharma 29 not out, Harmanpreet Kaur 24; Sadia Yousuf 2/19).