Mandhana, Deepti, Ghosh star as India breeze past Pakistan
Mandhana top-scored with 68 to lift India from 18 for 2 to 170, their highest in a T20 World Cup against Pakistan
Mandhana top-scored with 68 to lift India from 18 for 2 to 170, their highest in a T20 World Cup against Pakistan
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Ashish Pant
That went quick. Smriti Mandhana was the star of the show with the bat while Deepti dominated in the field, with five wickets and a stunning run out. In case, you missed any of the action, Shashank Kishore's report will have you covered. Thank You, for tuning in this evening. That's all from us, until next time, this is me Ashish Pant, signing off on behalf of Shashank, Raghav and Ranjith. Ciao!
Harmanpreet Kaur, the India captain: I would like to thank the crowd for turning up today. [On Mandhana and Deepti] Whenever we need, they are always there to push the team. It was a decent pitch. Initially we unnecessarily put pressure on ourselves. But when Smriti and I were batting, we tried to control the game. [Richa Ghosh's arrival point] If it is in my hands, I would love to send her on the first ball. But she has a role to play and she is doing well. [Fielding] Cricket is game of... if you catch every ball, you win matches. That is what happened while fielding. Very happy with the fielding overall. [NRR] Every league game is important and very happy how we went about it.
Fatima Sana, the Pakistan captain: The batting side was very disappointing. We need to step up as we have a long way to go. [171 target] We were good till the last few overs, but we got sloppy. The one extra fielder coming in also affected us. It might be because of lefty-right combination. It is a young side and they will learn. [Catching] Catches win matches but unfortunately, and the senior players dropped catches. We need to improve in bowling and catching. We will try and execute our plans as soon as possible. [Intent in powerplay] Our powerplay, we won with bat and ball. But we collapsed with the bat and we need to improve there.
Presentation time
5.57pm What a clinical performance by India. A target of 170 was always going to be steep. Pakistan got a good start courtesy of Muneeba Ali. It was Deepti Sharma who gave India the first breakthrough in the form of Gull Feroza. But Pakistan still kept ticking along. But the Indian spinners soon spun a web. Shree Charani picked up three wickets, but it was Deepti who returned barely believable figures of 5 for 10 to derail Pakistan. She ended with a three-wicket over and in the process became the leading wicket-taker in T20Is, standing alone at the top with 166 T20I wickets. A mention that there were no handshakes between the two teams once the match got over.
Deepti Sharma is the Player of the Match: I am grateful and I like these kinds of wickets. I like ICC tournaments. It is turning so I vary my pace in every ball and every over. Because it was turning, I thought I should bowl slower and it helped me. Amazing crowd and a lot of people came and supported us. That is what we want that a lot of people support. Especially I wanted to mention about Smriti and Harry [Harmanpreet] di's partnership. That changed the course. I always believe in myself that whenever the right time comes, I will step up.
Sagar: "...and someone was doubting Deepti's inclusion in the XI today."
kamal: "I would genuinely like to see the reactions now from someone who was advocating Yastika in place of Deepti today. Deepti has once again shown why experience and temperament matter in big games"
Sampath has his stats nuggets churning
1) Most wickets for spinners in an innings in women's T20 World Cup:
9 - India vs Australia, Providence, 2018
9 - Pakistan vs Ireland, Cape Town, 2023
9 - India vs Pakistan, Birmingham, 2026
2) Deepti Sharma is the first Indian with multiple five-wicket hauls in women's T20Is. Both the five-fors she took in T20Is have come in 2026
3) Most wickets in women's Internationals:
355 - Jhulan Goswami 354 - Deepti Sharma 335 - Katherine Sciver-Brunt 332 - Ellyse Perry 327 - Sophie Ecclestone
Nashra Sandhu c Kaur b Sharma 4 (10m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 80
Sadia Iqbal next in
Tasmia Rubab c Rodrigues b Sharma 0 (1m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0
Tasmia Rubab next in
Aliya Riaz c Rodrigues b Sharma 18 (24m 17b 1x4 0x6) SR: 105.88
Deepti bails out of her run-up and looks at the non-striker who was taking off for a run early
Deepti back on from around the wicket
They fell one over short of the target and were fined 5% of their match fee
Performances of Mandhana, Ghosh and Deepti underline India's triple-threat
Mandhana top-scored with 68 to lift India from 18 for 2 to 170, their highest in a T20 World Cup against Pakistan
Pakistan went in without Diana Baig
"We got so much support from the crowd and fans cheering, it felt like home conditions," says Deepti Sharma