India made quick work of Pakistan in the Women’s Asia Cup match in Dubai on Saturday (September 5), bowling them out for just 55 before chasing down the target in 8.4 overs. With Pakistan’s lowest-ever total in the Women’s T20 tournament, India needed just 56 players and while Fatima Sana briefly gave hope to her team by removing India’s top three batters, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma ensured there was no late drama. India won by seven wickets and finished top of Group A with three wins from three.
Pakistan decided to bat first and made a fairly confident start with Muniba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar putting on 27 runs for the first wicket. Muniba survived several chances early on, including a simple missed chance at cover point, before Shafali Verma finally broke through in the fifth over, taking her for 13 off 15. That dismissal opened the floodgates.
Seagull Feroza fell three balls later, caught at backward point after charging down the pitch and attempting to bowl Sri Charani against the turn. Zulfiqar, who was the more fluent of the openers with three boundaries of 14 off 14, was the next to go in the same over with Charani catching her in front. Aisha Zafar then hit a drifter straight to Harmanpreet Kaur at mid-on, leaving Pakistan reeling at 32 for 4.
From that moment on, the collapse gained momentum. Prema Rawat bowled Sadaf Shamas for three, he bowled and missed a faster delivery that straightened and hit the stumps. Fatima Sana followed in the next over, being trapped lbw by Deepti Sharma as Pakistan were left reeling at 35 for 6.
Eyman Fatima and Umm-e-Khani resisted for some time, surviving 10 rounds, but there were no signs of recovery. Eiman fell short by five points while Umm-e-Khani passed Rawat to Nandani Sharma for a minor penalty. Rawat struck again to remove Nashra Sandhu for a duck before Deepti ended the innings by stumping Tooba Hasan as Pakistan were sent packing in 18.1 overs.
Charani and Rawat finished with three wickets each while Depti took two. Only Muniba and Zulfiqar reached double digits.
The pursuit of India began with such aggression that it was assumed that the target would be pursued very quickly. Shafali launched the first ball in pursuit of six and then took one off the next delivery to reach 3000 runs in the women’s T20I. At 22 years and 220 days, she became the youngest player to reach this milestone.
Pakistan, however, found a brief opening through their captain. Fatima Sana struck twice in the second over. Shafali got the edge which went back to the bowler while Pratika Rawal got the edge to the keeper. Smriti Mandhana, fresh from her record-breaking knock against Hong Kong, China, looked to settle matters but was bowled out in Fatima’s next over, lbw for nine.
This was as close as Pakistan came to turning the game around. Harmanpreet and Deepti avoided unnecessary risks by rotating shots and waiting for opportunities to score. Deepti eventually broke the dot sequence with a four off Nashra Sandhu in the seventh over before Harmanpreet, in her 150th T20I as captain, brought the game to a decisive conclusion with a six off Sandhu straight into the ground.
Brief assessments: Pakistan 55 in 18.1 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 14; Shri Charani 3-7, Prema Rawat 3-9) lost to India 57/3 in 8.4 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 18*, Deepti Sharma 12*; Fatima Sana 3-17) by 7 wickets.