Indian Women's Team Overcome Bug Invasion to Cruise to Chilly Win Over Pakistani Rivals in Women’s Cricket World Cup
Pace bowler Kranti Goud and spin specialist Deepti Sharma took three wickets each as India routed Pakistan by a substantial margin in their World Cup encounter, starting like recent ones between the countries men’s teams without a handshake from the captains and then featured a controversial run-out of a Pakistan opener.
India’s captain, Kaur, did not shake hands with Pakistan’s Fatima Sana during the coin toss and the teams walked off without post-match pleasantries after the contest amid diplomatic strains between the two neighboring nations.
The captains at the recent men’s Asia Cup in the UAE also did not shake hands at games between the two rivals. India has accused their neighbor of having involvement in tourist assaults that killed dozens.
Match Summary
Losing the toss, they were dismissed for 247 runs in their allotted overs. Their openers, Pratika Rawal and the star batter Smriti Mandhana, shared 48 for the first wicket before the bowler had Mandhana lbw for a 23 off 32. Rawal made 31 runs before she was bowled by the left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal. The captain scored 19 runs before edging behind off Diana Baig.
Deol was the top scorer for the team with 46 and Richa Ghosh made a rapid 35 not out to boost their team to a competitive total.
Rodrigues (32), Sharma (25) and Rana (20) all made valuable contributions, while Diana took 4/69 for the opposition and Iqbal and Sana had two wickets each. The match was stopped for a quarter-hour because bugs were troubling the players.
Pakistan’s Innings
The Pakistani team were bowled out for 159 in 43 overs. The only half-century of the match in the venue came from Amin, who made 81 runs.
Pakistan’s first wicket was taken in a confusing manner when the opener Muneeba Ali was adjudged run out. She had grounded her bat after returning to her crease, having moved forward to attempt a stroke. The bat was then lifted momentarily when an India throw struck the wickets. Sana argued with the fourth umpire that the player was not running but the ruling was upheld.
Amin’s 106-ball innings included a maximum and nine fours. The seamer took 3/20 and the spinner finished with three for 45.
