Birmingham, June 14: India has set a target of 171 runs for Pakistan in a high-stakes match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The ‘Women in Blue’ aim to kick off their campaign with a strong victory.
Winning the toss at Edgbaston on Sunday, the Indian team opted to bat first, scoring 170 runs while losing 6 wickets. Opening batswoman Shafali Verma started the innings with a six off the first ball but was dismissed on the fifth ball of the same over, scoring just 6 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues (1) joined the crease but only managed to contribute 12 runs alongside Smriti Mandhana for the second wicket in 15 balls.
India lost two wickets for just 18 runs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then partnered with Smriti Mandhana, putting together a crucial 91-run partnership for the third wicket off 63 balls, taking the team past the century mark.
Mandhana scored 68 runs off 44 balls, hitting 2 sixes and 9 fours before returning to the pavilion. Shortly after, the team lost Bharti Fulmali (1). Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was dismissed for 36 runs off 35 balls, including 4 fours.
By the 16.2 over mark, India had lost 5 wickets for 123 runs. From there, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh added 45 runs in just 21 balls, putting the team in a strong position. In the 19th over, India scored 23 runs, followed by 15 runs in the final over. Richa scored 34 runs off 17 balls, with 1 six and 5 fours, while Deepti remained unbeaten on 12 runs off 9 balls. From the opposition, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana each took 2 wickets, while Tasmia Rubab and Rameen Shamim claimed 1 wicket each.
Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian team featured Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, and Shreyanka Patil.
Pakistan’s playing eleven included Gul Firoza, Muniba Ali (wicketkeeper), Ayesha Jafar, Saira Jabeen, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Parvez, Fatima Sana (captain), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Tasmia Rubab, and Sadia Iqbal.
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