New Delhi, June 15: The Indian women’s cricket team kicked off the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup with a resounding victory. In a match held in Birmingham, India defeated Pakistan by 64 runs. Deepti Sharma played a pivotal role, taking five wickets and showcasing exceptional bowling skills.
Deepti shared insights on the team’s success, emphasizing a clear message from the management: forget what happened in the previous over while bowling. Speaking to GeoStar, she stated, “It’s hard to choose just one moment because everything I did in this match was special, but I would pick taking five wickets. Achieving five wickets in an ICC tournament and winning the match for my team is significant. During the first drinks break, we discussed improving our performance, knowing the caliber of players in our team.”
She added, “Even if you concede runs in one over, it doesn’t matter because you have the chance to bounce back in the next. Everyone remains positive, and that was the message given to every bowler. We were all encouraged to focus on what we could do better in the next over and to forget what happened earlier.”
In her four-over spell, Deepti conceded only 10 runs while claiming five wickets, marking the best bowling performance by an Indian in the Women’s T20 World Cup. With this achievement, she now holds the record for the most wickets in T20 internationals, surpassing Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong. Deepti has taken 166 wickets in the shortest format of cricket, while Thipatcha has 165.
Batting first, the Indian team scored 170 runs, losing six wickets in their 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a powerful 68 runs off 44 balls, while Harmanpreet Kaur contributed 36 runs. In response, the entire Pakistan team was bowled out for just 106 runs. Apart from Deepti, Shree Chhani took three wickets, and Shefali Verma claimed one.
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