Key events
India score 170-6
At 110-4 in the fifteenth over India were struggling to get away, enter Richa Ghosh with a pulsating 34 off 17 balls to get her side a commanding score on the board. Smriti Mandhana anchored the innings with 68 off 44 balls and Harmanpreet chipped in with with a run a ball 36. Over to Pakistan for the chase in a few minutes.
WICKET! Richa Ghosh b Fatima Sana 34 (India 168-6)
Sana bowls Ghosh with the penultimate ball of the innings but the damage has been done.
Final over, to be bowled by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana. Ghosh sweeps a full toss for four and Sana loses her cool momentarily, spearing down five wides and then another wide down the leg side. Ghosh goes over the infield to pick up two, all the momentum is with India now and it’s all a bit wheels off for Pakistan.
19th over: India 155-5 (Ghosh 28, Sharma 11) Tasmia Rubab goes too straight and Deepti Sharma swivels away into the leg side for four. A single brings Richa Ghosh on strike. Shot! Ghosh picks up four over extra cover and then… here we go – SIX! Ghosh goes big over long on, slices behind square for four more and then backs away to flat bat down the ground for another boundary! 23 runs off the over, Richa Ghosh playing a remarkable cameo!
18th over: India 132-5 (Ghosh 10, Sharma 6) Nashra Sandhu rattles through an excellent over, just three runs off it! Proper cat and mouse stuff in Birmingham… oh there’s an over rate penalty for Pakistan and they have to bring a fielder inside the ring for the next.
17th over: India 129-5 (Ghosh 10, Sharma 3) Deepti Sharma is the new batter, India spluttering towards the end of their innings in Edgbaston after winning the toss and batting first.
WICKET! Harmanpreet Kaur c Natalia Pervaiz b Fatima Sana 36 (India 123-5)
Captain gets Captain! Kaur is well caught on the boundary and Pakistan are coming right back into this match!
16th over: India 122-4 (Kaur 36, Ghosh 7) Nashra Sandhu returns and whistles through a tidy over that costs just five runs.
15th over: India 117-4 (Kaur 32, Ghosh 6) Richa Ghosh is the next batter and she wastes no time, crunching her first ball through the covers for four!
WICKET! Bharti Fulmali st Muneeba Ali b Sadia Iqbal 1 (India 110-4)
Fulmali comes haring down to Iqbal and completely misses, Muneeba Ali whips off the bails and India lose their fourth.
14th over: India 110-3 (Kaur 31, Fulmali 1) Bharti Fulmali joins her captain for the business end of the innings and gets off the mark first ball.
WICKET! Smriti Mandhana c Fatima Sana b Rameen Shamim 68 (India 109-3)
Gone! Pakistan really needed that, Mandhana tries to go big down the ground but can’t beat the Pakistan skipper hurtling in at long on to take a fine catch. Better late than never…
13th over: India 104-2 (Mandhana 64, Kaur 30) What a costly over that is for Pakistan! Mandhana is dropped again, this time at long off and the boundary fielder parries the ball over the ropes for SIX. Salt, meet Wound. Harmanpreet then sweeps and drives for two more boundaries, 19 off the over and Pakistan shoulders beginning to droop.
12th over: India 85-2 (Mandhana 55, Kaur 21) The drop of Mandhana in the 8th over is looking increasingly important. She goes to fifty with another lofted drive over extra cover. The innings is just starting to get away from Pakistan, they need to break this partnership. Shot! Mandhana trots down the wicket and drives over long on for a one bounce four. She tries the same off the next ball but a bit of turn from Shamim sees her connect only with fresh air. Mandhana might have done herself a mischief here, the physio is called on to massage her hamstring. She’s ok to continue for now but is moving gingerly.
11th over: India 74-2 (Mandhana 44, Kaur 21) Mandhana winds up for a big sweep but misses, a strangled appeal as she was clearly hit outside the line. A drive for two is followed by a classy lofted drive over extra cover for four. Nine runs off the over, India hauling their run rate for the innings up towards sevens.
10th over: India 65-2 (Mandhana 36, Kaur 20) Mandhana launches Rubab down the ground for SIX! Quick on her feet and a flowing blade, the Indian fans in the crowd enjoyed that one. We’re halfway through the overs and India are just starting to build some momentum.
9th over: India 54-2 (Mandhana 28, Kaur 17) Harmanpreet bisects the field wonderfully with a cover drive for four. She then follows up with a powerful sweep to the square boundary. The run rate given a shot in the arm but it’s just those eight runs off the over.
8th over: India 46-2 (Mandhana 28, Kaur 9) Pakistan are doing well to protect the boundaries here, India can’t get away from them. The big shot inevitably comes and is DROPPED! Mandhana should have been on her way there but Aliya Riyaz spilled the chance at long off. How costly will that miss be?
7th over: India 41-2 (Mandhana 26, Kaur 6) Very tidy over from Shamim, just three singles off it, bowling in her baseball cap too.
6th over: India 38-2 (Mandhana 25, Kaur 4) Sana brings herself back but commits the cardinal sin of overstepping with her first ball. Free Hit time… well bowled – Harmanpreet can only dig the yorker out for a single. The batters rotate strike neatly for three singles. Close! Mandhana drives uppishly back past the bowler and Sana can’t quite get her fingers to it in her follow through. It’s timed well enough to race away for four.
5th over: India 30-2 (Mandhana 20, Kaur 2) Pakistan shuffle their pack again, Ramim Shamim the off spinner into the attack. Gah, a drag down is slapped away for four behind square by Mandhana, that was a poor ball. And again, too short and whipped away, you can’t bowl there!
4th over: India 20-2 (Mandhana 11, Kaur 1) Harmanpreet flicks off her pads to get off the mark. Just two runs and the wicket off the first over from left arm seamer Tasmia Rubab. Pressure on India at Edgbaston.
Here comes Harmanpreet Kaur. India need a captain’s knock from her.
WICKET! Jemimah Rodrigues c Natalia Pervaiz b Tasmia Rubab 1 (India 18-2)
An ugly hoick from Rodrigues and she sends up a skier that is well pouched at the second attempt by Pervaiz in the ring. India lose their second!
3rd over: India 18-1 (Mandhana 10, Rodrigues 1) Mandhana pings a beautiful cover drive for four and is gifted another four from a misfield at long on. Eight off the over and Smriti looking in dangerous touch.
2nd over: India 10-1 (Mandhana 2, Rodrigues 1) Pakistan’s skipper Fatima Sana has the ball for the second over. Mandhana pulls a short ball to the boundary rider on the leg side and is off the mark with a single. Rodrigues scampers a single to mid on, a direct hit would have been interesting… Mandhana tickles a single off her hip and there are just three runs off a tidy first over from the captain.
1st over: India 7-1 (Mandhana 0, Rodrigues 0) Jemimah Rodrigues arrives in the middle, she’s a class player. She looks at a wide down the leg side and then defends the last ball of a high octane first over. Phew.
WICKET! Shafali Verma c Muneeba Ali b Sadia Iqbal (India 6-1)
Gone! What a first over this is, Verma backs away and gets a fine edge through to the keeper. It’s all happening at Edgbaston!
Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal starts for Pakistan and Shafali Verma bunts it over long off for SIX! How’s that for nerves, six off the very first ball of the match! Is there a term for that? I should know really…
Iqbal gathers herself well with three dots and then…
The players head out for the anthems. We’ll be underway very shortly, India looking to set a sizeable target on what looks like a decent batting track.
It’s an official sellout at Edgbaston, there are some Bangladesh and Netherlands fans still in situ after their last over thriller finished a few minutes ago but the decibels are now being dominated by fans of India and Pakistan.
“Clear skies in Edgbaston and there’s a lot going on. India and Pakistan have taken over the outfield while Charles Dagnall leads the post-match interviews after Bangladesh’s last-over win against the Netherlands. I’m on handshake-watch for the toss – yep, you can’t escape the political backdrop to this one.”
Taha sends an update from the ground and confirms that the captain’s did not shake hands.
Teams:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Shreyanka Patil
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (c), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, Tasmia Rubab
India win the toss and will bat first
Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana toss up in the middle and the coin falls India’s way. India choose to bat and there’s no handshake between the captains… so much for just another game.
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to a big old ding dong of a fixture in this WT20I World Cup as India take on Pakistan at Edgbaston.
The corresponding fixture at the men’s tournament earlier in the year had a lot of on and off field noise surrounding it, in comparison the build up to this fixture is relatively subdued.
Take India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur doing a fine job of stonewalling in the pre-match press conference.
We are here for cricket and we only talk about cricket. Except for cricket we don’t talk anything and I don’t even think we know anything except cricket. Cricket has been our dream from day one and we only discuss cricket and for tomorrow’s game we are only thinking about it as another game which we are going to play.”
Just another game? Not likely, there’s always intense rivalry between these two sides and both will be desperate to get their tournament off to a winning start in the hotly contested Group 1.
The match starts at 14.30pm BST and the weather is set fair in Birmingham with a big crowd expected. Taha Hashim is our man on the ground and I’ll try and winkle some gossip, scandal or more likely which bowlers are marking out their run ups out of him in the buildup to the first ball.
Back soon with the toss and teams, do join us.
