Birmingham, June 14: The Indian women’s cricket team kicked off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a spectacular victory against Pakistan, winning by 64 runs. A standout performance came from left-arm spinner Shree Charni, who made her World Cup debut in this match.
Charni’s exceptional bowling put the Pakistani batsmen on the back foot. She took 3 wickets for just 21 runs in her 4 overs, playing a crucial role in restricting Pakistan to 106 runs and securing victory for India.
This performance marks the second-best debut by an Indian bowler in World Cup history. Previously, Diana David achieved 4 wickets for 27 runs against New Zealand in 2010, while D Hemlata took 3 wickets for 26 runs in 2018.
In the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first, scoring 170 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana delivered an impressive half-century, scoring 68 runs off 44 balls. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur contributed with 36 runs from 35 balls, and wicketkeeper-batswoman Richa Ghosh added a quickfire 34 runs, including 1 six and 5 fours off just 17 balls.
To chase the target of 171 runs, Pakistan struggled, with only opener Muniba Ali putting up a fight, scoring 41 runs off 35 balls. The entire Pakistani team was bowled out for 106 runs in just 17 overs.
For India, Deepti Sharma and Shree Charni led the bowling attack effectively. Deepti took 5 wickets for just 10 runs in her 4 overs, while Charni claimed 3 wickets for 21 runs. Shefali Verma also contributed with 1 wicket. Deepti was named Player of the Match.
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Pakistan’s Fatima Sana stated, “Our journey in the World Cup is still long; we need to perform better in the upcoming matches.”
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