India Women Dominate Pakistan in T20 World Cup Opener
India Women Dominate Pakistan in T20 World Cup Opener
India handed Pakistan a 64-run defeat in their Women’s T20 World Cup clash, with Deepti Sharma spearheading a dominant bowling performance to successfully defend 170 at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on June 14, 2026.
Sharma claimed five wickets, dismantling Pakistan’s batting lineup with a late burst for 5-10, cementing her position as the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20 cricket with 166 dismissals. Her standout performance set the tone for India’s campaign as they opened the tournament in remarkable fashion.
The India bowlers restricted Pakistan to a modest 106, with Sharma taking the first two wickets early in the innings. Despite a spirited effort from Pakistan’s Muneeba Ali, who reached 41 before being run out in the 11th over following a tactical mix-up, India maintained control. The collapse accelerated after Fatima Sana’s dismissal at 77-5, with Sharma’s containment of Tasmia Rubab—conceding just 23 runs in four overs—in the death overs sealing the margin.
India’s middle order rallied behind Sharma, with Smriti Mandhana navigating a rocky powerplay before scoring a defiant 50 off 42 balls after two crucial dropped catches. Though she pushed boundaries late to maximize her reprieves, her wicket triggered a brief collapse that underscored Pakistan’s reliance on tight partnership, a luxury India’s frontline prevented.
Despite Richa Ghosh’s explosive 34 off 17 deliveries and Navroti/Vaswani nudging the score toward 171, Pakistan’s lack of depth in the batting ashced manifested heavily during the middle-overs meltdown. Contrarily India benefited from Sharma’s fiery late pace overs alongside cooperative yorkers from T. H. B. Chandling, securing victory after holding off steady medium-pacers in final death overs, rewriting their historical rivalry narrative, having now prevailed against Pakistan in all WC format encounters.
[Figure: v] [div align=”center”][img style=”width:770px” data-recalc-dims=”1″ loading=”lazy” class=”wp-image-770 jpeg” src=”https://www.liveimage.com/Cricket-WICIDT2026-India-Pak.png?w=770″ alt=”India’s Deepti Sharma celebrates her victorious bowling at Birmingham 2026″ fetchpriority=”Low”])![Pakistan team players walking off the field after 64 run defeat in 2026 Cricket a display of Sharma’s all-round brilliance]
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