India Beat Pakistan in T20 World Cup Thriller

India secured their first win of the Women’s T20 World Cup beating Pakistan by six wickets. However, their cautious approach with the bat left questions despite chasing a modest target of 106 in 18.5 overs. After a heavy defeat to New Zealand, India needed to boost their net run rate but seemed overly cautious especially during the powerplay where they scored just 25-1 without a boundary.

Shafali Verma top-scored with 32 from 35 balls, while Jemimah Rodrigues added 23 from 28. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s composed 29 from 24 balls steadied the chase, although she had to retire hurt just before the finish, leaving Sajeevan Sajana to hit the winning runs. India’s bowlers were key to the win with Arundhati Reddy starring with 3-19. Pakistan struggled to build any momentum with Nida Dar top-scoring with 28.

The Indian bowlers consistently took wickets limiting Pakistan to 105 with strong contributions from Renuka Singh Thakur, Shreyanka Patil and Deepti Sharma. Despite the comfortable win, India’s slow chase raised concerns. Fatima Sana’s two quick wickets briefly brought Pakistan back into the game but India held on. India now faces must-win matches against Sri Lanka and defending champions Australia in their group-stage campaign.

Harmanpreet’s injury adds to their concerns as her leadership will be crucial moving forward. England’s Tash Farrant noted that while India secured a win, their lack of urgency left the performance underwhelming raising doubts about their form heading into tougher matches.