India Overcome Bug Plague to Sail to Chilly Win Over Pakistan in Women’s Cricket World Cup
Pace bowler Goud and spin specialist Sharma claimed three scalps apiece as the Indian side defeated their opponents by a substantial margin in their Women’s World Cup match, which began similar to recent fixtures between the men’s national sides with no handshake from the skippers and then featured a disputed run-out of a Pakistani opening batter.
The Indian captain, Harmanpreet 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 match amid political tensions between the two south Asian neighbours.
The captains at the men’s Asia Cup in the UAE similarly avoided handshakes at games between India and Pakistan. Indian authorities have alleged their neighbor of being involved in tourist assaults that claimed many lives.
Game Overview
Losing the toss, India were dismissed for 247 in their allotted overs. Their openers, Rawal and star player Mandhana, put on 48 for the first wicket before the bowler had her lbw for a 32-ball 23. Rawal made 31 runs before she was bowled by the left-arm spinner Iqbal. The captain scored 19 before edging behind off Baig.
Deol top-scored for India with 46 and Ghosh made a quick-fire 35 not out to lift their side to a competitive total.
Jemimah Rodrigues (32), Sharma (25) and Rana (20) all made valuable contributions, while Baig took four for 69 for the opposition and Iqbal and Sana had two wickets apiece. Play was stopped for a quarter-hour because insects were bothering the players.
Pakistan’s Innings
The Pakistani team were dismissed for 159 runs in 43 overs. Sole fifty of the match in the venue came from Sidra Amin, who made 81 runs.
The opening wicket was taken in a confusing manner when the opener Muneeba Ali was adjudged run out. She had grounded her bat after getting back, having moved forward to play a shot. The bat was then seen to be lifted when an throw struck the wickets. Sana protested to the fourth umpire that the player was not attempting a run but the ruling was upheld.
Amin’s 106-ball innings included a six and nine boundaries. Goud took three wickets for 20 runs and Sharma returned three for 45.
