India continued their dominance over Pakistan with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory in the Women’s Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday, bowling out their arch-rivals for just 55 before chasing down the target in 8.4 overs.
The victory gave India a perfect group-stage campaign, with three wins from three matches against Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan, earning all six available points.
India’s spin attack was at the heart of the victory, with N. Sree Charani and Prema Rawat claiming three wickets apiece as Pakistan collapsed from 27/0 to 55 all out in 18.1 overs. Deepti Sharma took two wickets, while Shafali Verma claimed one.
After Pakistan opted to bat first, openers Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar provided a steady start and put on 27 runs. However, Muneeba was bowled by Shafali for 13, triggering a dramatic collapse.
Charani then struck twice in the final over of the powerplay, dismissing Gull Feroza for a duck and trapping Zulfiqar lbw for 14. She returned to claim her third wicket by having Ayesha Zafar caught for two.
Prema Rawat and Deepti Sharma continued India’s assault. Prema bowled Sadaf Shamas, while Deepti trapped Pakistan captain Fatima Sana lbw for a duck. Eyman Fatima briefly resisted before being run out for five, and Prema later removed Umm-e-Hani and Nashra Sandhu to finish with outstanding figures of 3/9.
Charani was equally impressive, returning 3/7 from her four overs as India’s disciplined spin attack repeatedly deceived Pakistan’s batters with flight, turn and variations in pace.
Deepti completed the innings by dismissing Tuba Hassan, with Richa Ghosh effecting the stumping, as Pakistan were bowled out for their second-lowest total in women’s T20Is against India.
India’s chase began explosively, with Shafali launching Sadia Iqbal’s first delivery over long-off for six. She also reached a major personal milestone, becoming the youngest batter to score 3,000 runs in women’s T20Is, achieving the mark at 22 years and 220 days. She reached the milestone in 2,182 balls, making her the fastest to the mark in terms of deliveries faced.
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, however, produced a spirited spell during the powerplay. She dismissed Shafali for 12 before removing Pratika Rawal for four off the next delivery. She then trapped Smriti Mandhana lbw for nine in her following over, leaving India at 29/3.
Sana’s three-wicket burst made her one of only a handful of bowlers from full-member nations to take at least three wickets inside the first six overs of a women’s T20I on multiple occasions.
With the asking rate barely a concern, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma then took control of the chase. The pair played sensibly, rotated the strike and punished loose deliveries to ensure there was no further scare.
Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on 18, while Deepti finished unbeaten on 12. The Indian captain sealed the victory in emphatic fashion, stepping down the pitch to loft Nashra Sandhu over long-on for six as India reached 57/3 in 8.4 overs.
The result marked India’s fifth consecutive T20I victory over Pakistan, further underlining their dominance in the rivalry.
For Pakistan, the defeat leaves their qualification hopes dependent on their final group-stage match against Hong Kong, which becomes a crucial contest for a place in the semi-finals.
Brief scores: Pakistan 55 all out in 18.1 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 14, Muneeba Ali 13; N. Sree Charani 3/7, Prema Rawat 3/9) lost to India 57/3 in 8.4 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 18*, Deepti Sharma 12*; Fatima Sana 3/17) by seven wickets.
(With agency inputs)
