In an impressive display of bowling, the Indian team, led by standout performances from Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil, restricted Pakistan to a mere 105 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match in Dubai on Friday.
After a disappointing match against New Zealand, India’s bowlers bounced back strongly, with all five bowlers contributing to the wicket tally.
Arundhati Reddy emerged as the star of the match, finishing with figures of 3 wickets for just 19 runs in her four overs, while Shreyanka Patil supported her well by taking two crucial wickets. Renuka Singh, Deepti Sharma, and Asha Sobhana each chipped in with one wicket apiece.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan struggled to find their rhythm and lost wickets at regular intervals. The innings got off to a disastrous start as Renuka Singh dismissed Gull Feroza for a duck on the very first ball. By the end of the powerplay, Pakistan found themselves at 29/2, with Deepti Sharma cleaning up Sidra Amin for 8 runs.
Arundhati Reddy’s incisive bowling saw her remove Omaima Sohail (3) and Aliya Riaz (4), while Shreyanka Patil had Muneeba Ali stumped for 17. The Pakistan innings faltered further as their captain, Fatima Sana, managed to score 13 off 8 balls before being dismissed by Asha Sobhana, leaving Pakistan at 70/6. Shreyanka Patil then took the wicket of Tuba Hassan for a duck, pushing Pakistan down to 71/7.
The experienced Nida Dar was the highest scorer for Pakistan, making 28 runs off 34 balls before being bowled by Arundhati Reddy. Pakistan managed to cross the 100-run mark, finishing their innings at 105/8 in 20 overs, with Syeda Aroob Shah (14) and Nashra Sandhu (6) remaining not out.
India now requires 106 runs to secure a victory against their arch-rivals in this crucial encounter.
