India thumps Pakistan by seven wickets in Women's Asia Cup opener

• India thrashes Pakistan by 7 wickets in Women's Asia Cup opener.
• Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana star with the bat for India.
• Pakistan struggles with the bat, bowled out for 108.

India’s women’s cricket team defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in their first match of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Friday.

India excelled with both the ball and the bat, chasing down the 109-run target in just 14.1 overs. Shafali Verma (40 off 29) and Smriti Mandhana (45 off 31) put India in a strong position with an 85-run partnership before Aroob Shah dismissed Mandhana.

After the openers and Dayalan Hemalatha (14 off 11) were removed by Aroob, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues finished the job for India.

Pakistan, opting to bat first, had a poor start, losing openers Gull Feroza and Muneeba Ali early, leaving them at 26-2 in 3.5 overs. Sidra Amin played valiantly but received no support from the other end as skipper Nida Dar (8 off 11) and Aliya Riaz (6 off 11) failed to contribute significantly.

Amin scored 22 runs off 35 balls before being dismissed, after which Tuba Hassan played a quick 22-run knock off 19 balls with three boundaries. Indian bowlers dominated, making it difficult for Pakistani batters to score big runs. Fatima Sana’s late 16-ball 22-run knock helped Pakistan reach 108 runs before being all out in 19.2 overs.

For India, Deepti Sharma took three wickets, while Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, and Shreyanka Patil each claimed two wickets.

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