Explore the thrilling moments of India’s triumph over Pakistan in the W-T20 World Cup, featuring Arundhati Reddy’s exceptional contributions to the team’s success.
Introduction:
India were staring at a tough situation before their Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 game against Pakistan. Situated at a net run rate of -2.90, India needed a win by a healthy margin to improve their position in the points table. A crucial win for India over Pakistan in Dubai by six wickets on a hot afternoon, but not enough to ensure the dominating performance required for a good improvement in NRR. The match was written on caution chases and inspirational bowling from Pakistan, but it was Indians who really stood the nerve to get over the line in the end.
Set Up By Arundhati Reddy And Shreyanka Patil INDIA’S Win
The base of the win by India was created by Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil, who shared five of the eight wickets between them. Pak, batting first, could only reach 105, while Nida Dar managed the highest score for them with 28. On a slow, spin-friendly ground, the batters of Pakistan were not able to gain much momentum while facing frequent wicket losses; they failed to turn the good starts of their openers into substantial scores.
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Reddy did a good job replacing injured Pooja Vastrakar, who bowled superbly, claiming three important wickets. The first breakthrough came well into the innings when she dismissed Sidra Amin with a delivery that chipped towards mid-off. Reddy was relentless and constant on pressure till Pakistan committed errors to get into false shots.
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Shreyanka Patil, the pick of the bowlers in the middle overs, picked two wickets, and most importantly, the wicket of Muneeba Ali, who was starting to look ominous. Patil’s bowling was a bit more disciplined in allowing India not to let Pakistan run away with the game in the given overage.
Pakistan’s Batting Struggle
Despite the early intention, Pakistan’s batting line-up succumbed to the aggressive bowling of India’s attack. Gull Feroza and Muneeba Ali started opening for Pakistan and in a bid to make an early statement, Ali started using her feet against Renuka Singh’s swing but couldn’t break loose from India’s attack and the scoreboard trickled by slowly.
Nida Dar, the backbone of Pakistan, could not make the scoreboard even as her partners went down at the other end. With Aliya Riaz and Tuba Hassan, going out, Dar was left to somehow get Pakistan to a defendable total. Luck did not favor Pakistan as the efforts of Dar were not enough. And the wicket of Dar that came through the Reddy’s hands further confirmed the fate of Pakistan as they settled for 105.
India’s Chase: Slow but Steady
Targeting 106, India were required to win in 11.2 overs to bring their NRR into positive. The run chase wasn’t smooth at all, as Pakistan’s spinners were tight to the Indian top order. Powerplay went by without a single boundary, and the openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana struggled to find gaps from the field.
Mandhana, in particular, seemed unlucky as she kept getting fielders despite playing some elegant strokes. Her dismissal, after chipping the ball to backward point, put India in a spot of bother. Shafali Verma managed to break the boundary drought in the eighth over, but the pressure continued to build.
No. 3 Jemimah Rodrigues batted sensibly and worked the ball around to keep the scoreboard ticking. India could, however, not find those boundaries consistently enough to keep Pakistan at bay. The match went into a tight balance when Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh fell in consecutive overs.
Harmanpreet Kaur Steadies the Ship
Returning to her No. 4 spot once again, Harmanpreet Kaur was the solitary Indian batter in the top six with a strike rate over 100. The quietness at the crease helped in stabilizing the chase, but acceleration was not possible with the slow surface. Just when it seemed that India was inching toward victory, Harmanpreet sprained her neck while avoiding a stumping and retired hurt.
This sudden turn of events threatened to open the door for a Pakistan comeback. But Sajana, playing in place of the injured Vastrakar, came in and struck the winning four to ensure India’s victory and maintain their supremacy over Pakistan in Women’s T20 Internationals.
Conclusion
India earned two precious points by winning the match against Pakistan with six wickets in hand, but they did not really exploit their net run rate sufficient enough, which leaves them with a bit of work to do in the tournament. For the bowling side, Reddy and Shreyanka Patil were the stars, while batting seems too slow and labored; yet still, India managed to hold off a tough Pakistani team.