The Indian women sealed an emphatic victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in their first game of the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup, beating their neighbours by a huge margin of 107 runs. Batting first, India’s score was buoyed by crucial innings courtesy of Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar, after Smrithi Mandhana and Deepti Sharma had made valuable contributions earlier. A circumspect middle-phase for the Indians seemed to rock the boat a bit, but brilliant knocks from the two middle-order batters ensured that India reached a match-winning total.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad then put up another excellent performance with the ball, as she together with the legendary Jhulan Goswami and Rana, who backed up her brilliant performance with the bat, made invaluable contributions with ball in hand. India eventually defended their total of 244 with ease, bowling the Pakistanis out for a modest 137, and securing a massive 107-run victory.
India, who won the toss and decided to bat first at Mount Manganui, lost their first wicket very early, as Shefali Verma departed for a duck. Her opening partner and number three batter Deepti Sharma then took it upon themselves to build up the Indian innings after the early loss, and did an excellent job of it as well. The two added 92 runs for the second wicket, before Nashra Sandhu knocked over Deepti, giving the Pakistani women a much-needed breakthrough, bringing captain Mithali Raj in to the middle.
Mandhana completed her half-century and then quickly departed as well, as the Indian innings looked to be heading downhill. There was more damage to come the Indians’ way, as Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh both headed back to the pavilion without giving the scorers too much trouble. Raj, attempting to break the shackles in the high-pressure situation, was only able to top-edge a Sandhu delivery, giving Diana Baig the simplest of catches at point, ending her stay at the crease.
Raj scored nine runs in 36 deliveries, in a very uncomfortable knock, departing with a strike rate of just 25, which could be worrying for the Indians at some point in the tournament. Nevertheless, India had lost five wickets while scoring a paltry 18 runs, and were being bossed by the Pakistan bowlers at 114/6.
However, Rana and Vastrakar had other plans. The two added 130 runs for the seventh wicket in a record stand, and took the Indian score well past the 200-run mark. The duo’s brilliant partnership of 130 came in just 16.5 overs, as their expansive strokeplay brought India back into the game in a major way. Suddenly, it appeared as if India were on top, and the possibility of victory was not at all farfetched, a tremendous recovery from a precarious position at 114/6.
Chasing 245, the Pakistan innings never took off. The openers had scored just eight runs in almost seven overs to begin with, and ended the first ten overs with a meagre score of 28, when they lost their first wicket, with Javeria Khan miscuing a flighted Gayakwad delivery straight to mid-on. The returning skipper Bismah Maroof and opener Sidra Ameen attempted to turn things around, but Maroof was also done away with b Sharma, leaving Pakistan in a spot of bother.
It was all downhill from that point on as none of the Pakistan batters seemed to be in control. Wickets were falling far too frequently than they should have been, and it was a poor overall batting display from the side. Post Maroof’s dismissal, they lost seven wickets while scoring just 61 runs, putting them out of contention for victory, thanks to excellent bowling spells from Gayakwad and Jhulan Goswami.
The Pakistan innings eventually ended on 137, giving India a huge victory in their first game of the World Cup. Vastrakar was named player of the match for her scintillating innings of 67. India will next take on hosts New Zealand in their next group stage encounter on March 10 at Seddon Park.
