India vs Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup T20 2024 Highlights: Solid Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana seal seven-wicket win

The difference was the PowerPlays; we didn’t do well in both. The bowlers did well towards the end, though. We are confident of bouncing back.

Our bowlers and openers did the job. The first game is always a pressure game. It sets the tone. Our entire unit played really well. When we were bowling, we were talking about early breakthroughs. With the bat, credit goes to Smriti and Shafali. 

We want to keep playing fearless cricket.

Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana made short work of a small target set by Pakistan. The pair looked fluent as they dealt in boundaries to keep Pakistan consistently under the pump. Their form bodes well for India which will see similar, perhaps more challenging conditions in Sylhet during the World Cup three months later. Pakistan’s bowlers had no answers for how confident India was with the bat. Three late wickets fell but the win was well in the bag.

Sadia Iqbal to bowl what is likely the final over of the game. And it’s done. Jemimah Rodrigues hits the winning run. A comfortable seven-wicket win to start its Asia Cup campaign for India. 

Aroob Shah continues. Simgle for Harmanpreet gets a single through sweeper cover. Jemimah also runs a single, through short midwicket. Harman defends a full length ball angling in, straight back to the bowler. Another dot follows as Harman comes onto the front foot. Big edge to short leg, but no damage. Harman cuts the offside for two runs. Scores are level. Dot to finish. India has to wait for the next over to seal the win. 

Nashra returns. Harmanpreet Kaur gets a single through square leg. Hemalatha is in a hurry to get this game down and goes big but holes out to Tuba Hassan at point. 

WICKET Dayalan Hemalatha c Tuba Hassan b Nashra Sandhu 14 (11b 3x4 0x6) SR: 127.27

Jemimah is the new batter. Seven runs needed for a win. She gets off the mark quickly with a nudge down short midwicket. This pair is happy to take things slow. Five more runs needed for a win. 

Aroob Shah to continue. Couple of singles for the pair. AND SHE WILL WIPE OUT SHAFALI. What a lovely dismissal. BOWLED. Ball goes between bat and body and she comes down the track to try and middle it. Lots of regret on Shafali’s face as she walks back. 

WICKETShafali Verma b Syeda Aroob Shah 40 (29b 6x4 1x6) SR: 137.93

Nashra returns. Terrible piece of fielding here from Pakistan. Hemalatha lunges to sweep. She gets it to backward square leg but Iram Javed who gets to the ball makes a mess of fielding it. The ball runs away for FOUR. Another boundary. This time cut to point. POINT. Another one and this a gorgeous square drive for FOUR. 

Syeda Aroob Shah, right arm off spin. Short ball, but low. Shafali triesd to pull the ball, no distance on it at all, but it lands safely. Just a single. A dot ball to Mandhana. Length ball on the leg-middle stump line, Mandhana comes down the track to try and heave this out. But can’t do it cleanly. She ends up holing out to Aliya Riaz at short midwicket who catches and throws the ball back to the ground in relief. Big wicket this. 

WICKET Smriti Mandhana c Aliya Riaz b Syeda Aroob Shah 45 (31b 9x4 0x6) SR: 145.16

Hemalatha is the new batter. She’s been juggling cricket balls by the ropes for a long time, trying to lock in her focus for when her turn would come. Gets off the mark with a single. 

Nashra back. Some singles as just five runs off the over.

Tuba Hassan back. And Smriti hits her for a FOUR towards square leg. A dot ball, and Smriti goes for a FOUR again as she comes down the pitch to hit it towards deep extra cover. A WIDE by Tuba in the next ball. Smriti hits another FOUR as she hits this one towards long off. She’s playing with the fielders now as Smriti goes reverse to scoops it towards fine leg for another FOUR. And she ends the over with another FOUR! Some form the Indian batter is in!

Nashra Sandhu bowls her first over. A great over from the spinner as she concedes just the one run.

Tuba Hassan is the newest bowler to come in. Smriti welcomes Tuba with a FOUR as she takes a slight step to hit to the covers. And another FOUR as Smriti slots it over square leg to bring up 50 for India. Shafali joins the party as she hits India’s first SIX over fine leg. A very expensive over from the Pakistani bowlers.

Fatima back. A single from Smriti. FOUR from Shafali as she hits it over the fielders inside the circle and towards the covers. Another FOUR from Shafali as she hits it towards long-off! A dot ball to end the over.

Nida Dar into the attack. Starts with a dot. Shafali then whips out the sweep, loses balance almost but the ball gets to the fence. FOUR. She then gets a single through square leg. Mandhana then gets a length ball drifting outside off. Has all the time in the world to cut this to cover for FOUR. India is cruising. 10 runs off the over.

Sadia Iqbal continues. A fuller delivery turning outside off. Triggered a false shot from Shafali who couldn’t read the turn of the ball. Amends are made with a boundary of the next ball. Sadia opts for a shorter length. Goes through mid on and midwicket for FOUR. Goes again through the gaps. Short again from Sadiq and this time, Shafali goes on the backfoot and beats cover and point fielders for FOUR again. Fuller delivery this time, it’s negotiated to long on for a single. She will retain strike. 11 runs off the over. 

Fatima Sana comes in after a good knock with the bat. First FOUR for Smriti as she flicks it towards deep mid-wicket. Shafali back on strike. A single to end the over.

Very similar circumstances to that last T20I vs South Africa a few days ago for India. Smriti and Shafali are out. The Pakistan coach has a sheet in hand with strategies. Wonder what they can do with the ball. Sadia Iqbal will begin proceedings with the ball. Starting with spin straight up. Left-arm spinner to Shafali. Goes into the right hander, a tossed up delivery. Defended. Another dot. Sadia then sends the ball drifting to the leg stump and Shafali loves those. Flicks the ball off her pads to the square leg fence. FOUR. A couple of singles to end the over. Six off it for India. 

It was a field day for the Indian bowlers on the pitch tonight as they restricted the Pakistanis to just 108. Both the spinners and the pacers shared the load as Deepti Sharma starred with three wickets, which included scalping skipper Nida Dar. There were glimpses of hope from Pakistan’s batting order, with Sidra Ameen and Tuba Hassan coming in with important knocks, but they too were removed before they could settle. At the end, it was Fatima Sana who added some runs, including two sixes in the penultimate over, to get Pakistan over the 100-run mark.

Shreyanka bowls the last over. Shefali gets a direct hit on the first ball but the batter has just back in her crease courtesy a dive. WICKET in the next ball as Patil wraps up the innings with her second wicket.

Radha bowls her last over. A SIX from Fatima over long-on as 100 comes up for Pakistan. Another SIX and it’s Fatima again! Great penultimate over as 14 comes off it.

Deepti comes back for her last over and strikes right away. WICKET as an on song Tuba Hassan tries to slice it but finds Radha Yadav at point for a catch. Radha goes for the audacious attempt to take a catch, but drops it. However, she collects it and throws it directly at the stumps at the keeper’s end and gets Syeda Shah out for another WICKET. A very very bad over for the Pakistanis as Deepti scalps Nashra Sandhu and gets her out for a golden duck for another WICKET in the over. Deepti Sharma ends her spell.

Radha back for her third over. Five runs off the over.

Shreyanka is back for her third over. Tuba goes inside out and hits one over the covers for a FOUR. 

Another FOUR for Pakistan as Fatima drives on through to the boundary towards cover. A single run after that strike. An unlikely misfield from Radha as Pakistan get another FOUR.

Deepti is back. She bowls two dot balls. A FOUR on the last ball of the over as Tuba hits it down the ground. The strike went through Hemalatha’s fingers and gave Pakistan a boundary after some time.

Renuka returns for her second spell. Swing and a miss from Tuba in the first ball, followed by another dot ball, this time right at the batter’s feet. WICKET! Renuka removes Sidra after the batter is caught out at point. RENUKA STRIKES AGAIN! Iram Javed walks back immediately after the Indian pacer gets two in two!

WICKET! Nida Dar goes for the big shot but doesn’t get enough distance as Hemlatha is there at long-on to take the catch. Deepti Sharma picks up her first wicket of the match. Dar goes for eight in 11 balls. Just three runs off the over.

Vastrakar is back for her second spell. On her return, she bowls a wide to skipper Nida. The batter cuts it towards short cover for a single. Sidra hits it towards square leg but good fielding from the Indian fielder to restrict it to just a single. Goof up from Shefali at mid-on as there was a clear chance of runout, but the misfield gives the Pakistani batter enough time to get back to the crease.

Shreyanka Patil continues. Reverse sweeps are saving Pakistan here. Sidra uses it to get out a straightening ball to the point fence. Shreyanka oversteps in firing the next ball in. Error in trying to get it in faster. Arm ball, which got her a wicket. She throws in a bumper to try and fox the batter. Sidra tries to cut it, but is all over it. Can’t get the boundary, just a single. Seven runs come off the over eventually, but smart bowling from Shreyanka who is alive to how conditions are impacting the ball. 

Radha Yadav continues. A quiet over from her as Nida Dar and Sidra Amin choose to be a bit more cautious. 

Shreyanka Patil comes in. Spin from both ends now. Starts with a dot ball. Fuller and right to the stumps. Sidra is happy to defend. Big appeal off the second one as Sidra again goes down on one knee to sweep the ball. She cops the blow on her body triggering a big LBW appeal but it looks like it could miss leg and so the umpire isn’t interested. There’s a very square fielder to take the sweeps out of the equation and trouble Pakistan. Sidra gets a single through midwicket. Keeps sticking to that full nagging length, keeping the stumps in play. Shreyanka goes full to Aliya who tries to flick it off on the leg side but ends up producing a big edge which goes straight to Jemimah Rodrigues at midwicket. Quite loopy this delivery from Shreyanka and she has her first Asia Cup wicket. Helped question a restless Aliya Riaz and eventually send her back. Pakistan in all kinds of trouble. Captain Nida Dar is the new batter. 

WICKET Aliya Riaz c Rodrigues b Patil 6 (11b 1x4 0x6) SR: 54.54

Radha Yadav comes in for her first. Goes full and Aliya RIaz is happy to defend. She concedes a wide as another fuller delivery goes down leg. Aliya will get a single two balls later, through midwicket. A single for Sidra Amin will round off the over. Quiet one from Radha. 

Deepti is brought on to round off the PowerPlay. Sidra reverse sweeps for four. Good confident start for the Pakistani batter. Sidra is sweeping and pulling her way to runs.. She does the same for a single through deep midwicket. Aliya Riaz then manages to find the boundary herself, with some help from a misfield from Renuka Singh at short fine leg. It went through her. Deepti isn’t happy, Harmanpreet isn’t happy. Aliya Riaz gets a single to round off the over. 10 runs off the over. 

Renuka continues. Harman continues with pace. Renuka sticking to her fuller deliveries. Sidra has switched to a kind of cautious shell. She needs to break free and is trying her best to get the ball away but Renuka is allowing her no room or width to try and get the ball away. There was an lbw appeal, but it sounded like it was bat first and could potentially be drifting down leg. Umpire wasn’t interested. India didn’t persist. Big inside edge again but Sidra Amin’s sweep will give her a run and get her off strike. She will be happy with that. Aliya Riaz is on strike. She brings so much experience to this side but has struggled with inconsistency. 

Sidra begins confidently, running two through an unmanned midwicket region. Pooja then swaps to a shorter length that stays a bit low. A single is run. A nice cut from Muneeba off a fuller ball from Pooja finds the boundary ropes. Muneeba tries to do the same thing except Pooja has dragged her length back with a short ball pitching up. A shoddy shot finds its way to Jemimah Rodrigues at mid-off. Both openers back in the hut for Pakistan

WICKET Muneeba Ali c Rodrigues b Vastrakar 11 (11b 2x4 0x6) SR: 100

Renuka returns for her second. A dot ball for Sidra Amin to start, but middles the ball nicely to get the ball over point for FOUR. Radha Yadav dove to try and get a hand on it but to no avail. Sidra gets a single after getting down on one knee to get the ball to fine leg. A few dots later, Renuka sends a fuller delivery outside off and Muneeba moves to swat it to the backward square leg. FOUR. A manufactured shot that and done quite well. 

Pooja Vastrakar shares new ball duties with Renuka Singh. Has a rising ball, going into the left-hander. Muneeba manages to get a single. Harmanpreet Kaur makes a change to her field to accommodate Vastrakar’s short-pitched abilities and it pays off. Gull Feroza is up to the task as she picks up the short ball from the Indian seamer and swats it to the midwicket fence for FOUR. But India will have the last laugh. Gull Feroza creates a big top edge and Harmanpreet takes the catch at short mid-on. 

WICKET Gull Feroza c Kaur b Vastrakar 5 (5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100

Sidra Amin is the new batter and will see off Pooja safely. 

Renuka to begin from the Press Box end. The Indian pacer has chosen to drift a little outside off for the first two balls and on a fuller length. Just a single for leg bye to begin with. Muneeba gets a single with a nudge to third man. A yorker negotiated for a single by Gull Feroza. Muneeba ends the over with a single, cut to point. Tight over this from Renuka. 

Dayalan Hemalatha, who missed two games vs South Africa due to a suspected ankle niggle, is back in the lineup. Renuka Singh returns and will replace Arundhati Reddy. Uma Chetry makes way for Richa Ghosh who sat out two games vs South Africa due to a concussion. 

India Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, D Hemalatha,Harmanpreet Kaur,Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh Thakur

Pakistan Playing XI: Sidra Amin, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali, Nida Dar (C), Aliya Riaz, Iram Javed, Fatima Sana, Tuba Hassan, Sadia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu, Syeda Aroob Shah

Nida Dar has chosen to bat first in Dambulla. 

The tournament opener between Nepal and UAE was played on the pitch India and Pakistan will play on today. UAE struggled to get going but it looked like a good batting track given what Samjhana managed to do. 65m boundary goes all around so it will take some doing to clear the ropes. Good placement is key. Stump to stump bowling will help bowling sides.

Opener Samjhana Khadka made a breezy, unbeaten fifty and pacer Indu Barma grabbed three wickets as Nepal outclassed UAE by six wickets to make a winning start to their campaign in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup here on Friday.

Khadka (71 not out, 45b, 11x4) played a fine hand to take her side past the target of 116 in 16.1 overs.

The Emirates’ outfit could not fight against the more experienced Nepal bowlers led by Barma (3/19), ending up at a below par 115 for eight.

In T20 Internationals, the Women in Blue have a clear edge in terms of past meetings. Moreover, in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup alone, India has just lost once to its neighbours in four editions of the tournament.

The last time the Indian women beat Pakistan women in the T20 format of the Asian competition was in the 2018 edition. India beat Pakistan by seven wickets, but went on to lose the tournament to Bangladesh in Kuala Lumpur.

In the 2022 edition, which was the last time the T20 format of the tournament was held, Pakistan beat India by 13 runs in Sylhet. This is the women in green’s only win against India in the history of Women’s T20 Asia Cup.

Women’s Asia Cup 2024; India vs Pakistan: Head-to-head record of IND v PAK in T20Is

The Indian women’s cricket team opens its campaign in the Asia Cup 2024 on Friday when it faces arch-rivals Pakistan at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka.

The Women’s Asia Cup is set for a blockbuster start when defending champion India takes on arch-foes Pakistan in a prime-time clash here on Friday, with the eight competing teams hoping to firm up their combinations ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s India is the team to beat going into this iteration of the Asia Cup, having won the competition three out of four times in the T20 version and each of the four times in 50-overs format.

Additionally, India is also the most successful team in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 with 17 wins in 20 matches. They beat Bangladesh in the final of the last edition in 2022.

Read more here

Women’s Asia Cup 2024: Dominant India begins title defence with clash against Pakistan

The Women’s Asia Cup is set for a blockbuster start when defending champion India takes on arch-foes Pakistan in a prime-time clash here on Friday, with the eight competing teams hoping to firm up their combinations ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.

The 2024 ACC Women’s Asia Cup will be broadcast in India on the Star Sports Network. It will also be livestreamed on the Disney + Hotstar app. Fans outside India in select countries can catch the live coverage of the games on the Asian Cricket Council’s YouTube channel.