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Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia congratulated Team India on their win over Pakistan in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
Sensational bowling spells from spin twins Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani and a fiery half-century from Smriti Mandhana were the highlights as Team India crushed Pakistan by 64 runs in their ICC Women's T20 World Cup opener at Birmingham on Sunday. As the 50-over world champions, the Women in Blue have started with a bang, showing why exactly they are huge favourites to pull off a double of 50-over and 20-over World Cup crowns. Sachin posted on X that he missed a "very special performance" from the team as he was on a flight and hailed Smriti, Deepti, Shree Charani and explosive wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh for their standout performances. "Just landed and caught up with the result. Looks like I missed a very special performance from our team. Smriti's innings and Deepti Sharma's five-wicket haul will rightly earn plenty of praise, but contributions from Shree Charani, Richa Ghosh, and the rest of the group seem to have made this a truly complete performance. What a great start to the campaign!!," posted Sachin. https://x.com/sachin_rt/status/2066221390945222762 BCCI secretary Saikia also hailed Team India for their "highly disciplined and clinical performance", which he feels sets a strong tone for India's road ahead in the showpiece event. "Congratulations to Team India on a commendable start to the World Cup campaign. A highly disciplined and clinical performance resulted in a dominating 64-run victory over Pakistan. This comprehensive win sets a strong tone for the tournament ahead. Excellent execution by the entire squad. Jai Hind," posted Saikia. https://x.com/lonsaikia/status/2066223490039189981?s=20 Coming to the match, India opted to bat first and sank to 18/2 after Shafali Verma (6) and Jemimah Rodrigues (1) were dismissed early. A partnership for 91 runs between Smriti Mandhana (68 in 44 balls, with nine fours and two sixes) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (36 in 35 balls, with four boundaries) took India past the 100-run mark. A late blitz from Richa Ghosh (34 in 17 balls, with five fours and a six) took India to 170/6 in 20 overs. Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana were among the top bowlers for Pakistan with two wickets each. During the chase, Pakistan started off rather decently with a steady 38-run opening stand, but Indian bowlers soon took over, reducing them to 91/7 and then 106/10 in 17 overs. Muneeba Ali (41 in 35 balls, with five fours) was the only player to cross the 20-run mark. Deepti (5/10) and Shree Charani (3/21 in four overs) bamboozled Pakistan with their spin bowling. Shafali also got a wicket. Deepti walked away with the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI)
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