Live: India chasing modest total against Pakistan in big-stakes WT20WC encounter
Updates as Fatima Sana’s Pakistan take on Harmanpreet Kaur’s India in a crunch game the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
India’s bowlers stepped up to limit the total as Pakistan opted to bat first in Dubai, with only two of the top six reaching double figures – Muneeba Ali (17) and Nida Dar.
But Dar combined with the Pakistan tail to boost the total late on after a sluggish start to the innings, hitting 28 from 34 balls to help reach triple figures, with Pakistan ending their innings on 105/8.
Watch Renuka Singh's brilliant first-over delivery
Renuka breaches Feroza's defense to strike first for India | WT20WC 2024
Some moments of magic from India lit up the first innings, with Renuka Singh clean bowling Gull Feroza to start things off in emphatic fashion, and Richa Ghosh pulling off a superb catch behind the stumps to remove the dangerous Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana (13).
Shreyanka Patil finished with outstanding figures of 2/12 in her four overs, while Arundhati Reddy bagged 3/19 as part of a bowling attack that was one prong lighter after an enforced rejig of the India team.
The story of the first innings
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first in front of a big crowd at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with each team making a change from their opening game, with the captains saying that both line-up alterations were enforced due to injury.
Pakistan’s Diana Baig continues to undergo treatment and was replaced by Aroob Shah, while Pooja Vastrakar was replaced by Sajeevan Sajana for India in a move that also lengthened the batting.
And it was India who had the better of proceedings early in the match.
Renuka Singh provided a moment of magic in the first over to send Gull Feroza back to the dugout without having troubled the scorers.
And Deepti Sharma ensured the powerplay went India’s way when she cleaned up Sidra Amin (8/11), leaving Pakistan on 29/2 after six overs, with Muneeba Ali the only batter to look relatively comfortable.
Watch Deepti Sharma get in on the act
Omaima Sohail’s stay in the middle was short-lived as she was caught off Arundhati Reddy for 3 (6), and India were jubilant when they prized out Muneeba Ali (17 from 26), with the opener looking to up the ante and being stumped off Shreyanka Patil.
The introduction of Pakistan captain, coming in at number seven, injected some life into the innings as she struck two boundaries in a promising cameo of 13 from 8, with her stay in the middle coming to an abrupt end when she was superbly caught by Ghosh off the bowling of Asha Sobhana.
But Pakistan managed to get to something resembling a competitive total thanks to Nida Dar (28 from 24) and Syeda Aroob Shah (14* from 17).
Excellent catch from Richa accounts for dangerous Fatima
Excellent catch from Richa Ghosh accounts for dangerous Fatima | WT20WC 2024
The two teams came into the game in contrasting form.
While Fatima Sana’s heroics inspired Pakistan to a famous win over Asian champions Sri Lanka in their opener, Sophie Devine’s excellence consigned India to a 58-run loss, making this game even more significant for Kaur’s side.
Historically, India have an advantage of 12-3 over Pakistan in the format. In their previous meeting in the 2023 edition of the T20 World Cup, Jemimah Rodrigues’ attacking 53* sealed a seven-wicket win over the Women in Green.
Watch the India players sing their anthem in Dubai
Playing XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali, Gull Feroza, Sidra Amina, Omaima Sohail, Nida Dar, Tuba Hassan, Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Syeda Aroob Shah, Nashra Sundhu, Sadia Iqbal
Watch the Pakistan players sing their anthem in Dubai
