India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in Women’s T20 World Cup© AFP
Young Indian wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh struck in the 18th over as Harmanpreet Kaur-led side beat arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets in their opening Group B match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday. Ghosh changed the complexion of the game by hitting three fours in the 18th over sent by Aiman Anwar, just when it looked like it was getting tight for India. Ghosh, unbeaten on 31, and her partner Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored an unbeaten 53 off 38 balls, were the mainstays of India’s victory after being set a target of 150 to win the contest.
Earlier, with the help of Bismah Maroof’s unbeaten 68 and Ayesha Naseem’s unbeaten 43, Pakistan posted a challenging score of 149 for four.
Radha Yadav was the most successful Indian bowler returning with figures of 2/21 in her four overs.
Deepti Sharma got India’s first break when Javeria Khan (8) swept and top edged Harmanpreet Kaur.
Radha dismissed the other dangerous opener Muneeba Ali for 12 to reduce Pakistan to 42/2. The India spinner saw the Pakistani wicketkeeper-batsman coming down the track and fired a one-arm delivery. Muneeba swipes but misses and Richa Ghosh hits the ball.
However, Bismah and Ayesha shared an 81-run partnership, with the latter’s 43 coming off just 25 balls at a strike rate of 172.
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