Indian women thrash Pakistan to start Asia Cup defence in style

 

In the first match of the Women's Asia Cup, India defeated Pakistan by 10 wickets. Batting first, Nida Dar's team scored 108 runs in 19.2 overs. In response, Harmanpreet Kaur's team chased down the target in 14.1 overs, losing 3 wickets and scoring 109 runs. However, in the final moments, the Indian team lost a few wickets unnecessarily due to a hurried approach.

Similar to Babar Azam's team, Nida's team appeared helpless against India. Playing as if it were a practice match, India secured an easy victory. Chasing a target of 109 runs, the Indian team opened with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, who put up an 85-run partnership in 9.3 overs, almost sealing the win for India. Smriti scored 45 runs off 31 balls, hitting 9 fours. Shafali scored 40 runs off 29 balls, including 6 fours and 1 six. Dayalan Hemalatha, batting at number three, scored 14 runs off 11 balls, hitting 3 fours. Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues were at the crease when India reached the target, scoring 5 runs off 11 balls and 3 runs off 3 balls respectively.

Pakistan's most successful bowler was Syeda Aroob Shah, who took 2 wickets for 9 runs, dismissing both Shafali and Mandhana. Nashra Sandhu took 1 wicket for 19 runs. No other Pakistani bowlers managed to take a wicket.

Earlier, Pakistan's captain won the toss and opted to bat first on the Dambulla pitch. However, this strategy did not succeed against the dominant Indian bowlers. Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, and Pooja Vastrakar were impressive, making it difficult for the Pakistani batters. Pakistan's openers, Gul Feroza (5) and Muneeba Ali (11), did not contribute significantly. Sidra Ameen, Tuba Hassan, and Fatima Sana offered some resistance. Ameen scored 25 runs off 35 balls, hitting 3 fours. Tuba scored 22 runs off 19 balls, also hitting 3 fours. Fatima remained unbeaten, scoring 22 runs off 16 balls, including 1 four and 2 sixes. No other Pakistani batter made a notable contribution, and they lost wickets regularly without forming any significant partnerships.

India's most successful bowler was Deepti Sharma, who took 3 wickets for 20 runs. Renuka Singh and Shreyanka Patil each took 2 wickets for 14 runs, while Pooja Vastrakar took 2 wickets for 31 runs. Harmanpreet Kaur expressed happiness over the victory against Pakistan in the first match of the tournament and stated that their goal is to play aggressive cricket throughout the competition.