Dubai: In a tense match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India secured a six-wicket win against Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday. Chasing 106, India reached 108-4 with seven balls to spare.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led the charge, scoring an unbeaten 29 from 24 balls. Despite a neck injury scare just before the win, she stayed at the crease, and Sajeevan Sajana hit the winning runs to seal the victory.

India had a strong start at 61-1 but faced a setback when Pakistan captain Fatima Sana took two quick wickets. However, Kaur’s calm performance helped India recover after an earlier loss to New Zealand in Group A.

Pakistan’s Nida Dar top-scored with 28, but the team struggled on a tricky pitch, managing only 105-8 in their 20 overs. Fatima Sana admitted the team fell short of expectations, saying they were “10-15 runs short.”

India’s bowlers impressed, especially Arundhati Reddy, who took 3-19 and was named Player of the Match. Her disciplined bowling helped keep Pakistan in check, removing key batters Omaima Sohail and Aliya Riaz.

Shafali Verma’s 32 from 35 balls gave India a solid start, and though they lost wickets quickly, Kaur ensured India maintained their dominance over Pakistan in T20Is, now leading the head-to-head 13-3.

India now stands fourth in Group A, and they will play Sri Lanka next. Pakistan faces a tough match against Australia later in the week.

DUBAI: India delivered an all-round performance against Pakistan to secure their maiden victory in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Earlier, Indian bowlers excelled with the ball and restricted Pakistan women’s team to 105 in the highly-anticipated match.

Fatima Sana’s decision to bat first backfired as her side could only accumulate 105/8 in the allotted 20 overs.

The Green Shirts had a disastrous start to their innings as they lost opener Gull Feroza in first over of the match.

Later, Sidra Amin and Omaima Sohail perished within seven overs with the scoreboard reading 33/3.

Following the early debacle, Muneeba Ali offered some fight with her cautious 17-run knock before falling victim to Shreyanka Patil, leaving Pakistan in tatters at 41/4.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Aliya Riaz also failed to reach double figures as she fell victim to Arundhati Reddy.

Skipper Sana and Nida Dar then tried to settle things down, culminating with the former’s dismissal in the 14th over.

Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals, while Dar (28) ticked the scoreboard singlehandedly until finally walking back to the dugout in the last over. Syed Aroob Shah scored a 17-ball fourteen taking the Sana-led team to 105.

Reddy bagged three wickets and Patil took two while Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma and Asha Sobhana struck out one batter apiece.

Dar remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 34-ball 28.

Earlier, the Green Shirts won the toss and decided to bat first against the arch-rivals India.

India have to recover quickly after facing defeat against New Zealand in the opening match while the Sana-led side won against the Asia-Cup champions Sir Lanka by 31 runs on Thursday.

In regard to this match, Pakistan’s skipper, Sana while talking to ICC, said that she aims to continue the attacking brand of cricket her side has recently adapted against India.

“I have been watching that whichever team we played against — played attacking cricket,” Sana said ahead of the big contest.

Squads

Pakistan: Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, and Tuba Hassan.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Sajana Sajeevan.

LAHORE: Pakistan on Sunday announced their playing XI for the first Test against England set to start at Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday (tomorrow). 

“This is our best playing XI […] Aamir Jamal’s inclusion will be beneficial. We have maintained our batting line-up to ensure consistency,” said red-ball captain Shan Masood while speaking at a press conference.

It is to be noted that three-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 and will see the Men in Green eyeing a comeback in the longer format of the game after suffering a humiliating whitewash against Bangladesh last month.

Expressing his views on the upcoming match, Masood said that the visitors — who secured a 2-1 victory against Sri Lanka in September — have a balanced team and underscored the need to play strong cricket on the field.

Addressing England’s skipper Ben Stokes’ unavailability in the first Test, the captain said: “Stokes’s absence will definitely affect England, but their playing XI is still strong, he is one of the world’s best all-rounders.”

“England have good seamers,” he remarked.

“We have come close to losing in the past [….] A Test match is a five-day game, so you can’t have one strategy,” he added, noting that a rotation policy has to be introduced for workload management regarding the fast bowlers.

Suitable conditions for spinners, seamers

Meanwhile, expressing his views, England captain Ollie Pope said that the conditions were different in Multan and would help the spinners and seamers.

“It will be interesting to see how the pitch plays out […] The [team] plan depends on the pitch and will be chalked out accordingly, ” he said while speaking to the media.

Noting that England bowlers will try to get as many wickets as possible in these conditions, Pope underscored the significance for consistency in the performance of the spinners.

“We have two regular spinners meaning that we may not be required to test Joe Root’s skills [in bowling department,” he added.

“The Pakistan team, though not playing well recently, is a tough team nevertheless [and] with bowlers like Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, we have to play good cricket,” remarked the England captain.

Playing XIs for first Test

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

LAHORE: Pakistan on Sunday announced their playing XI for the first Test against England set to start at Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday (tomorrow). 

“This is our best playing XI […] Aamir Jamal’s inclusion will be beneficial. We have maintained our batting line-up to ensure consistency,” said red-ball captain Shan Masood while speaking at a press conference.

It is to be noted that three-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 and will see the Men in Green eyeing a comeback in the longer format of the game after suffering a humiliating whitewash against Bangladesh last month.

Expressing his views on the upcoming match, Masood said that the visitors — who secured a 2-1 victory against Sri Lanka in September — have a balanced team and underscored the need to play strong cricket on the field.

Addressing England’s skipper Ben Stokes’ unavailability in the first Test, the captain said: “Stokes’s absence will definitely affect England, but their playing XI is still strong, he is one of the world’s best all-rounders.”

“England have good seamers,” he remarked.

“We have come close to losing in the past [….] A Test match is a five-day game, so you can’t have one strategy,” he added, noting that a rotation policy has to be introduced for workload management regarding the fast bowlers.

Suitable conditions for spinners, seamers

Meanwhile, expressing his views, England captain Ollie Pope said that the conditions were different in Multan and would help the spinners and seamers.

“It will be interesting to see how the pitch plays out […] The [team] plan depends on the pitch and will be chalked out accordingly, ” he said while speaking to the media.

Noting that England bowlers will try to get as many wickets as possible in these conditions, Pope underscored the significance for consistency in the performance of the spinners.

“We have two regular spinners meaning that we may not be required to test Joe Root’s skills [in bowling department,” he added.

“The Pakistan team, though not playing well recently, is a tough team nevertheless [and] with bowlers like Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, we have to play good cricket,” remarked the England captain.

Playing XIs for first Test

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir