India’s bowlers share wickets around to set up thumping win

India 109 for 3 (Mandhana 45, Shafali, Syeda 2-9) beat Pakistan 108 (Sidra 25, Deepti 3-20, Renuka 2-14, Shreyanka 2-14, Vastrakar 2-31) by seven wickets

India extended their dominance over Pakistan at the Women’s Asia Cup, notching up a seven-wicket victory in their opening game in windy Dambulla on Friday evening. It was set up by a clinical bowling display, the defending champions bowling Pakistan out for 108. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana’s breezy 85-run opening stand then ensured India chased the target down comfortably, in 14.1 overs.

Vastrakar’s short-ball display

With Renuka Singh back in the XI after having missed the last two T20Is against South Africa leading into the Asia Cup, India bowled five overs of pace in the powerplay. It pegged Pakistan back early, mainly thanks to Pooja Vastrakar. She started her first over with a short ball and was hit for a boundary second delivery but persisted with this length and it worked. She first removed Gull Feroza – who opened instead of Sidra Amin – as she mistimed a pull towards mid-on for Harmanpreet Kaur to complete the catch. In her next over, fourth of the innings, Vastrakar dismissed Muneeba Ali for a run-a-ball 11 with another short one; the batter was on her toes to upper cut but top edged to Jemimah Rodrigues in the covers to leave Pakistan 26 for 2.

Shafali, Mandhana’s power play

In stark contrast with Pakistan’s innings, India’s openers Shafali and Mandhana got them off to a flying start, scoring 57 in the powerplay. The same surface was used earlier in the day for the tournament opener, where Nepal beat UAE, but the duo quickly adjusted to the slowness of it in the chase.

Pakistan toiled to get their line and length right and, as a result, gave away boundaries through both over-pitched and short deliveries. Shafali brought up the first of six fours with a flick to square leg in the first over. Short balls from left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal were cut away through covers and pulled through midwicket. She also punished fast bowler Fatima Sana with two fours in her second over, the fifth overall, to race to 35 off 22 at the end of the powerplay.

Mandhana, who was in top form in the home series against South Africa before this, played cover drives with elegance and punched off the backfoot to find boundaries. After a boundary-less seventh over, she hammered five fours off legspinner Tuba Hassan, going from 23 off 20 to 43 off 26. She fell five short of a 25th T20I fifty, dismissed by another legspinner Syed Aroob Shah, caught by Aliya Riaz at short midwicket in the tenth over.

Shafali did her thing for 29 balls, making 40, before being bowled by Syeda, who was the most effective Pakistan bowler with 2 for 9 in her three overs. India strolled home not long after.

Pakistan’s collapse, and Deepti’s comeback

At the end of ten overs, Pakistan were 53 for 3, with Sidra Amin batting on 24 off 30 and Nida Dar on a run-a-ball 4. There were no demons in the surface though, and the spinners were not getting much turn either. Pakistan needed their captain to hang on and stitch together one big partnership, but it didn’t happen.

After 11 overs, Deepti Sharma, who had conceded ten runs off her first over, was introduced into the attack and she struck immediately. Dar came down the track aiming for a maximum but the attempted lofted shot came off the toe-end of her bat and found D Hemalatha at long-on.

It went from bad to worse for Pakistan when Renuka picked up two in two, dismissing Sidra for a 35-ball 25 and then trapping Iram Javed lbw first ball to leave Pakistan reeling at 61 for 6 in the 13th over. Tuba and Sana showed some fight, notching up 22 runs apiece, but it wasn’t enough.

Deepti’s final over gave India three more wickets which included a run-out effected by Radha Yadav with an excellent throw at the striker’s end. Deepti’s excellent comeback meant she returned figures of 20 for 3 to claim the Player of the Match award.