India survived a scare to edge past Pakistan in the Women's T20 World Cup on Sunday, keeping their campaign alive following their opening game defeat to New Zealand.
Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana chose to bat first on a hot afternoon in Dubai, in a match that India needed to win in order to have a realistic chance of making it to the semi-finals as one of the top two in Group A.
India survive Pakistan scare to keep Women's T20 World Cup hopes alive
Pakistan were rocked early as Renuka Singh got one to sneak back through the defence of Gull Feroza and knock back the stumps off the final ball of the first over. India did well to restrict the run-scoring early on and the lack of runs told as Sidra Amin was dismissed in the fifth over, and Omaima Sohail in the seventh.
Shreyanka Patil got rid of Muneeba Ali in the tenth over and at the halfway stage in the innings, Pakistan were struggling at 41-4. Thereafter, Nida Dar played the role of anchor even as she lost partners Aliya Riaz and Fatima Sana in quick succession, the latter to a stunning one-handed catch from wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh.
Dar was eventually dismissed in the final over for 28, and Pakistan managed to cobble together 105-8.
In reply, India made a sluggish start despite needing to win by a good margin in order to make progress on overturning the hit to their net run rate suffered by their 58-run loss to New Zealand. They lost just one wicket in the Powerplay, of Smriti Mandhana, but only put up 25 runs.
Through the middle overs, Shafali Verma took an uncharacteristically sedate approach, making her way to 32 off 35 balls before being dismissed in the 12th over. At that stage, India were 61-2 and victory itself seemed unsure.
When Fatima dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh off consecutive deliveries in the 16th over, it looked as though India's chase could unravel quickly. But skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stepped on the gas thereafter to bring the equation down to two runs required off 10 balls. However, she had to retire hurt after injuring her neck avoiding a stumping, and it was left to Sajeevan Sajana to hit the winning boundary.
India eventually won with seven balls to spare, but the result has done little to improve their chances of finishing in the top two, as their net run rate remains the second-worst in the group for now.
India v Pakistan, Women's T20 World Cup: Final score
Pakistan 105-8 in 20 overs (Nida Dar 28, Arundhati Reddy 3-19) LOST to India 108-4 in 18.5 overs (Shafali Verma 32, Fatima Sana 2-32).
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