Diana Baig led Pakistan to an inspired bowling performance with her 4-wicket haul as the other bowlers chipped in and kept a stranglehold of Indian batters. Diana Baig looked like a woman on a mission as her bowling was inspirational to keep India under 250. Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana also picked up 2 wickets apiece as well.
For India, plenty of starts but no one got past 50. Harleen Deol made 46. Pratika Rawal made 31 off 37 balls while Mandhana made 23 off 32 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues made 32 while Deepti Sharma made 25 while Sneh Rana made 20 off 33 balls. Richa Ghosh made an unbeaten 35 off 20 balls to propel India to 247 in 50 overs. Will this score be enough? Only time will tell.
India get off to a solid start despite losing Smriti Mandhana in the powerplay
Put into bat first, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana came out to open for India while Sadia Iqbal had ball in hand for Pakistan. Mandhana got off the mark in style by rocking on the backfoot and pulling it to deep midwicket for a boundary. Diana Baig got the ball from the other end. Rawal took the attack to Baig by hitting her for three consecutive boundaries through covers and through point backward point region.
Captain Fatima Sana brought herself into the attack. Rawal managed to get a streaky boundary through an outside edge past first slip and away to deep third man fence. Baig continued as Mandhana crunched her through deep point region. Sana continued and bowled a miserly over. Baig continued as both the openers survived a minor run out scare. Sana continued to keep things under check even though she was having trouble with her right ankle.
Mandhana opened the face of the bat and squeezed Baig through third man for a boundary. Baig confidently appealed for LBW as the umpire said no. Pakistan reviewed as the ball pitched outside the leg stump. The review was burnt by the Women in Green. Mandhana slashed hard and threw the kitchen sink to get it to deep point for a boundary. Fatima Sana then struck for Pakistan getting rid of Mandhana for 23 off 32 balls with 4 fours to her name.
Sana bowled a length ball on the middle stump which nipped back in. Mandhana was late on the flick and missed it on the inside edge. There was no bat involved. Ball Tracking showed Three Reds as Mandhana had reviewed in hope and burnt it for India. This was a huge wicket for Pakistan. Harleen Deol walked out to bat next.
Rameen Shamim came into the attack next. Deol rocked back and cut it late behind square on the off-side to beat backward point for a boundary. This was her 100th four in ODIs and the 50 came up for India in 9.3 overs. At the end of the first 10 overs of powerplay, India were off to a decent start at 54/1 in 10 overs.
Pakistan put the brakes on scoring and chipped away at the wickets
Fatima Sana continued and bowled a maiden over. Shamim continued and kept things tight as well. Sadia Iqbal came back into the attack. She too kept the scoreboard under check. The Drinks Break was then taken with the score at 57/1 in 13 overs. Deol broke the shackles after the break as she launched Shamim over wide long-on for the maximum. Rawal cut Iqbal between point and backward point for a boundary. But Sadia hit back and got rid of Rawal for 31 off 37 balls with 5 fours to her name.
Sadia bowled an arm ball on a length outside off-stump pushed through by Sadia. Rawal again went deep in her crease and looked to manufacture room to cut it through the off-side. She got beaten by the pace off the surface and the ball cannoned on to hit the top of off-stump. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur came out to bat next.
Shamim continued as Kaur got off the mark with a boundary by rocking back and slapping it past diving cover point for a boundary. Sadia continued as Deol survived a run out chance at the striker’s end. Nashra Sandhu came into the attack next. She started her spell with a miserly first over. Sadia continued who gave hardly anything away. Deol broke the shackles somewhat by charging down the track to the pitch of the ball and lofted it over mid-off for a boundary. One bounce and over the ropes. After 20 overs, India were 86/2.
Sadia continued and kept things tight. Deol showed deft touch and played the late dab by opening the face of the bat to guide it past short third man for a boundary. Kaur hit a boundary by coming down the track to use her wrists and flicked it to diving mid-on for a boundary as the 100 came up in 21.5 overs for India. Sadia Iqbal bowled another tight over. Sandhu too kept the lid on the scoring rate.
Diana Baig came back into the attack and dismissed Harmanpreet Kaur for 19 off 34 balls with 2 fours to her name. Baig bowled a good length delivery down the leg side. Kaur looked to help it on its way with a glance. She tried to use the pace of the bowler and tickles it fine. The keeper Nawaz moved to her left and dived to grab a sharp catch behind the stumps. Jemimah Rodrigues came out to bat next and got off the mark. After 25 overs, India at the halfway stage of the innings were 108/3 and had some work to do.
Pakistan chip away at wickets to keep India under check at 172/5 in 40 overs
Sandhu continued and bowled another tight over. Baig continued and got rid of Jemimah Rodrigues caught behind. But alas, she bowled a no ball as the hooter went up and free hit followed next. The free hit yielded a boundary as Jemimah stepped down and pulled it in front of square on the leg side. She found in the vacant region as the ball rolled away to the fence. Sandhu continued as Jemimah broke the shackles by going down on one knee and swept it through backward square leg for a boundary. Drinks was taken after 27.5 overs as insects continued to create havoc in Colombo.
Baig continued as Jemimah squatted and played late to deep third man where the fielder misfielded and let the ball go through for a boundary. Sandhu continued as Jemimah had a mix-up with her partner and managed to dive back to make the ground. Rodrigues then played an elegant extra cover drive through the extra cover region for a boundary. India reached 136/3 in 30 overs.
Fatima Sana came back into the attack as Deol flicked it away over deep square leg for a boundary. Sandhu continued and bowled a decent over. Sana continued as the 150 came up for India in 32.3 overs. Shamim came back into the attack and got Pakistan the breakthrough as Harleen Deol gave her wicket away for 46 off 65 balls with 4 fours and a maximum to her name.
Shamim bowled from over the wicket and bowled a full and tossed up delivery outside off-stump. Harleen stepped down the track and looked to clear long-on but didn’t get the timing or power right on the stroke. She ended up hitting it straight down the throat of Nashra Sandhu. The fielder ran in a few yards from the boundary ropes and took the simple catch. Deepti Sharma came to the crease next. She got herself going as India reached 154/4 in 34 overs when the officials told the players to go off the field for a while for fumigation process.
Play resumed after around 15 minutes with Sandhu starting things off. Rodrigues swept by going down on one knee and played it to forward square leg for a boundary. Sandhu then got Jemimah Rodrigues for 32 off 37 balls with 5 fours to her name after a successful use of DRS.
Sandhu bowled full on the middle and leg stump. Rodrigues got down on one knee and looked to sweep but missed it. The ball missed the gloves and hit the pads. Pakistan sent it upstairs. Replays showed the ball missed bat and gloves and hit the pads. Ball Tracking showed three reds and the decision was changed to OUT. Sneh Rana came next ahead of Richa Ghosh.
Shamim continued and bowled a quiet over. Sandhu also kept things under check as India were not able to get away. Sandhu finished her spell as well. Shamim continued even as insects played havoc even after the treatment. She too kept things tight. Fatima Sana came back into the attack and once again gave nothing away. Shamim bowled a decent 40th over as the boundaries had dried up for India. At the end of 40 overs, India crawled their way to 172/5 in 40 overs. Important 10 overs were ahead of us.
Pakistan chipped away at the wickets while late flourish takes India to 247 in 50 overs
Sadia Iqbal came back into the attack as Rana hit her away by rocking back and slapped it between cover and point for a boundary. Shamim continued and bowled a miserly over. Rana survived a run out scare as she made it to her crease on time at the keeper’s end as the direct hit was missed and she hurt herself a little bit. Deepti then hit Sadia for a boundary by sweeping it away to deep square leg. Rana then pumped Shamim down the ground her to long-on who does well to keep it to a single.
Rana hit Sana for a boundary by heaving over midwicket region for a boundary. The 200 came up for India in 44.1 overs. Fatima got her revenge getting rid of Rana for 20 off 33 balls with 2 fours to her name. Fatima bowled a good length delivery around the off-stump line. Rana was again down the track and looked to slog. There was no timing behind the stroke and hit it aerially down the throat of Riaz at wide long-on. Richa Ghosh came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. After 45 overs, India were 203/6 and in a spot of bother.
Diana Baig struck and got rid of Deepti Sharma for 25 off 33 balls with a boundary to her name. Diana bowled a good length delivery angling across outside off-stump. Sharma looked to swing across the line and lost her shape as the ball was not there to execute the particular slog. A clear outside edge carried safely to Nawaz behind the stumps. Nallapureddy Charani came out to bat next. She was adjudged caught behind off Baig but she reviewed and got the decision overturned in her favour. Baig bowled a wicket maiden over.
Sana continued as Richa took her on and cleared her front leg and smoked it over deep midwicket for the maximum. Fatima finished her spell well. Ghosh then hit Baig via a full toss as she lofted it over the umpire’s head for a boundary. Richa then launched Diana Baig by lofting it over wide long-off for the maximum. Sadia continued and got rid of Charani for 1 off 5 balls.
She bowled a good length outside off-stump from over the wicket. Charani was down the track and looked to slog it across the line. She was not to the pitch of the ball and got a leading edge that looped straight to backward point. Kranti Goud came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary through cover and extra cover. Richa then came on strike and got down on one knee and swept it to deep square leg for a boundary. Sadia Iqbal finished her spell as well.
Diana Baig came to bowl the final over of the innings. Richa reverse hits it over short third man for a boundary. Ghosh was then dropped as two fielders went for the catch and dropped it as Sidra Nawaz and Natalia Pervaiz were the culprits. Goud managed to hit a boundary by shuffling inside the line and helped it on its way past short fine leg to the boundary line. Baig hit back getting rid of Goud for 8 off 4 balls with 2 fours to her name.
Baig bowled full on the off-stump. Goud stepped down the track and looked to hit through the line. She was not to the pitch of the ball and mistimed the lofted drive straight to Aliya Riaz at mid-off. Renuka Singh Thakur came out to bat at 11 and was dismissed first ball. Baig banged it in short outside off-stump. Thakur looked to swipe across the line and there was no pace to work with. She got a top edge after losing her shape. The ball balloons behind the stumps with Sidra Nawaz moving to her left to take a catch as Baig finished with a four-wicket haul and India were bowled out for 247 in 50 overs. Richa Ghosh was unbeaten on 35 off 20 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to her name. 7 extras given by Pakistan.
Diana Baig was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with figures of 4/69 in 10 overs. Sadia Iqbal bowled well and picked up 2/47 in 10 overs. Fatima Sana the captain bowled well for her 2/38 in 10 overs. Rameen Shamim finished with 1/39 in 10 overs while Nashra Sandhu finished with 1/52 in 10 overs. This meant that Pakistan needed 248 runs to win and beat India for the first time ever.
What Lies Ahead
India have crawled their way by huffing and puffing to get to 247 in 50 overs. Pakistan captain at the toss said they would like to keep India down to under 250 and they did that and will feel they are in the game. But they have to bat really well on this challenging pitch against a good bowling line-up to win the contest. This match is up for grabs with no team ahead at this stage. This match can go either way.
Let’s see how the chase unfolds in the next few hours.
Also Read: ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: India Aims To Maintain Unbeaten Run Against Bruised Pakistan.