ICC Women's World Cup: India beat Pakistan by 95 runs in a thrilling comeback
Highlights of the match
- Woman-of-the-Match Ekta Bisht's remarkable five-wicket haul proved to be the clincher for India.
- Though India put up a modest total of 170 runs, they defended it in style by bundling out Pakistan for 74 runs in 38.1 overs.
- For the Indians, Deepti Sharma (28) and Punam Raut (47) propped up the innings with a 75-run partnership.
After Pakistan decimated the Indian men to clinch the Champions trophy last month, the Indian women's cricket team have been fighting against all odds like true underdogs and have shown the nation that revenge is a dish best served cold. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht's match-winning five-wicket haul helped the Women in Blue maintain their winning run in the ICC Women’s World Cup. The Indian team defeated arch-rival Pakistan by 95 runs and recorded their third successive win in the ICC Women's World Cup at Derby County in England on Sunday.
With this victory, India has now earned six points from three games.
India had a disappointing start after opting to bat, as they could only muster a score of 169 for 9 in the allotted 50 overs. But the Women in Blue scripted a thrilling comeback with a stellar bowling performance.
India had a dismal start with Smriti Mandhana (2), skipper Mithali Raj (8) and her deputy Harmanpreet Kaur (10) getting out cheaply. However, opener Punam Raut (47), Deepti Sharma (28) and keeper Sushma Verma (33 off 35 balls) steadied the Indian innings somewhat by batting with tenacity and great responsibility.
Pakistan's spinners, left-armers Nashra Sandhu (4/26 in 10 overs) and Sadia Yousuf (2/30 in 10 overs) inflicted maximum damage by snapping up six Indian batswomen for 56 runs between them in their allotted 10 overs each.
The final six overs of the innings turned out to be impressive for India as Sushma's superb batting fetched 41 runs. Though they were chasing a mediocre 170-run target, Pakistan women’s batting line-up collapsed when they lost six wickets with their score at 26 and were bowled out for 74 in 38.1 overs. Man-of-the-match Ekta Bisht returned with the figures of 5/18 in her 10 overs that included two maidens.
Praise has been pouring in for the Indian women cricketers, especially Ekta Bisht.
Since the women's team has been performing well with the players in good form, it the right time for BCCI and the government to support them with better infrastructure and remuneration. Hopefully we will see an increase in the fan following, which is something these ladies deserve in a cricket crazy nation like India, maybe an IPL for women as well.