India rebounded on Sunday with a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup, following their heavy defeat to New Zealand in the opener.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s side finally opened their tournament account with this win, which thrilled Sachin Tendulkar, although fans criticized India’s sluggish batting for not boosting their net run rate.
On a slow pitch at the Dubai International Stadium, Indian bowlers Arundhati Reddy (3-19) and Shreyanka Patil (2-12) restricted Pakistan to 105-8, with Nida Dar top-scoring with 28 off 34 balls. In response, India chased down the target with seven balls to spare, as Harmanpreet contributed a steady 29 off 24 before retiring hurt just before the win.
After the game, Tendulkar tweeted, “Congratulations to the Indian Women’s team on winning the World Cup match against Pakistan. This is a great comeback after the first game, and I hope we go from strength to strength from this match onwards. #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup.”
Despite the win, India’s net run rate remains a concern. They needed a convincing victory to offset the -2.9 NRR from their loss to New Zealand.
Finishing in 18.5 overs didn’t help their campaign much, as they sit fourth in Group A with a revised NRR of -1.217, trailing behind Pakistan (NRR 0.555) in third. New Zealand and Australia lead the group with wins in their opening games.