Smriti Mandhana starred with the bat, scoring 68 runs.
India Women and Pakistan Women clashed in their first encounter of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Birmingham on June 14, 2026. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bat first.
India lost Shafali Verma (6) and Jemimah Rodrigues (1) early, but Smriti Mandhana anchored one end and continued the run flow. She got support from Harmanpreet, who made 36 with 4 fours, while Mandhana made 68 with 9 fours and 2 sixes.
Richa Ghosh’s quick 17-ball 34 powered India to 170/6 in 20 overs. Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana picked 2 wickets each.
In response, Muneeba Ali made 41 and ensured Pakistan had a very good power play with over 50 runs. However, once the Indian spinners came to play, Pakistan batters just couldn’t keep up with the pressure put on them. They tried to break the shackles as the required run rate increased, and only Aliya Riaz made 18 runs as Pakistan folded for 106 runs.
Deepti Sharma starred with 5/10 and also became the highest wicket taker in Women’s T20Is, with 166 scalps to her name in 124 games. Shree Charani also took 3 wickets as India won the game by 64 runs.
Deepti Sharma was also named the Player of the Match for her bowling performance. India will next face the Netherlands on June 17 in Leeds.
Meanwhile, the cricket fraternity was all praises for the Indian women's team and lauded Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma for their performances as they made a winning start to the tournament.
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