Indian Women's Team Defy Insect Plague to Sail to Frosty Win Over Pakistan in Women's World Cup
The seam bowler Kranti Goud and spin specialist Deepti Sharma took three scalps apiece as the Indian side routed their opponents by a substantial margin in their Women’s World Cup match, starting similar to recent fixtures between the countries men’s teams without a handshake from the skippers and later included a controversial run-out of a Pakistani opening batter.
India’s captain, Kaur, declined to shake hands with Pakistan’s Fatima Sana during the toss and the squads walked off without greeting each other after the contest amidst political tensions between the two neighboring nations.
The captains at the men’s Asia Cup in the UAE similarly avoided handshakes at matches between the two rivals. India has accused Pakistan of being involved in attacks on tourists that claimed many lives.
Game Overview
India lost the toss, India were dismissed for 247 runs in 50 overs. The opening pair, Rawal and star player Mandhana, put on 48 for the opening stand before the bowler had Mandhana leg before wicket for a 32-ball 23. Rawal made 31 before being bowled by spinner Sadia Iqbal. Kaur scored 19 before edging behind off Diana Baig.
Harleen Deol top-scored for India with 46 and Richa Ghosh made a rapid 35 not out to lift their side to a respectable score.
Rodrigues (32), Sharma (25) and Rana (20) all made valuable contributions, while Diana took 4/69 for the opposition and the duo had two wickets each. Play was stopped for 15 minutes because bugs were troubling the cricketers.
Pakistan Batting
Pakistan were bowled out for 159 runs in 43 overs. The only half-century of the game in Colombo came from Sidra Amin, who made 81 runs.
The opening wicket was lost in a confusing manner when the opening batter Ali was adjudged run out. Ali had placed her bat after returning to her crease, having stepped out to play a shot. The bat was then seen to be lifted when an India throw hit the stumps. The captain protested to the official that the batter was not attempting a run but the ruling was upheld.
Amin’s innings of 106 balls included a maximum and nine fours. The seamer took 3/20 and Sharma finished with 3/45.
