In one of the most anticipated encounters of the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 in New Zealand, India clashed with the Pakistani team at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on March 6, 2022.
Mithali Raj won the toss and chose to bat first in their tournament opener. Opener Shafali Verma fell for a duck, but Smriti Mandhana made 52 to stabilize the innings with Deepti Sharma (40). But the middle order failed to come good as Mithali (9) Harmanpreet Kaur (5) and Richa Ghosh (1) fell quickly.
CWC 2022: Mithali Raj exchanges greetings with her Pakistan counterpart ahead of marquee game
However, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar came to the rescue of the Indian team at 114/6. Rana remained unbeaten on 53 in 48 balls with 4 fours and added 122 runs with Vastrakar for the 7th wicket. Meanwhile, Pooja made 67 in 59 balls with 8 fours to her name.
India finished on 244/7 in 50 overs. For Pakistan, Nida Dar and Nashra Sandhu picked 2 wickets each.
In reply, Sidra Ameen (30) and Diana Baig (24) were the only ones to go past the 20-run mark with the bat. Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the chief demolisher with 4/34, while veteran Jhulan Goswami picked 2/26 in her 10. Pakistan finally was dismissed for 137 runs, as India won by 107 runs.
Pooja Vastrakar was named the Player of the Match for her fifty.
The cricket fraternity lauded the Indian cricket team and the players which helped the team win this match with their valuable contributions.
Here are the tweets:
