BIRMINGHAM: Smriti Mandhana’s swashbuckling fifty powered India to a strong total against Pakistan in the sixth match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2026.
More to follow…
India capitalized on the decision to bat first and piled up 170 runs in their 20 overs despite a jittery start.
Sadia Iqbal removed Shafali Verma (6) in the first over, followed by Jemimah Rodrigues (1) in the third over. As a result, India were reduced to 18-2.
However, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana shared a 91-run stand for the third wicket to take their side out of trouble.
Kaur played second fiddle while Mandhana cleared the fence over covers on numerous occasions to raise her fifty. Her eye-catching shots made Pakistan bowlers clueless.
The stand was eventually broken in the 14th over as Mandhana was caught scoring after 68 off 44, including nine fours and two sixes.
At this moment, Pakistan sniffed a comeback with quick wickets, leaving India 123-5 in 16 overs.
But it was Rich Ghosh’s cameo that provided the innings’ late flourish, scoring 34 off just 17 deliveries, striking a six and five fours.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (c), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal and Tasmia Rubab.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil.
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