Billed as one of the favourites India, runners up in 2005 and 2017, have started their ICC Women's World Cup 2022 campaign with a huge win over Pakistan on Sunday in Mount Maunganui. Batting first, India never had the free-flowing start losing Shafali Verma for a duck. However, Smriti Mandhana continued her rich form with the bat and along with Deepti Sharma forged a 92-run stand for the third wicket. But Pakistan made a brilliant comeback in the game with five quick wickets including that of Mandhana and Sharma as India slumped to 114/6 in no time. But that wasn't the end of the story. With their back against the wall, Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana did the star turn as the duo dug India out of the mud with respective fifties to post 244/7 in 50 overs. In reply Indian bowlers had complete control of the game right from the start of Pakistan's innings. So much was the domination that Pakistan could manage only 26 in their first 10 overs. Rajeshwari Gayakwad gave India the first breakthrough in the 11th over as there was no stopping since then as wickets fell at regular intervals. Gayakwad finished at 4/31 while Jhulan Goswami and Rana took two wickets apiece as Pakistan were all out for 137 in 43 overs. Thus India women extend their number to 11 in ODIs against Pakistan. Get highlights of IND-W vs PAK-W.
13:17 PM IST: India Win
Harmanpreet Kaur takes the catch as Meghna Singh polishes off the Pakistani tail. India win by 107 runs.
13:12 PM IST: Lot Work To Do For IND, PAK
Pakistan need to learn a lot from their performance today. They have lot more games to play in this tournament and can only get better from here. India, too need to get to the drawing board and point out their mistakes in batting. PAK 137/9 (42)
12:54 PM IST: India Sense Win
India are just a wicket away from win. Richa Ghosh takes a brilliant diving catch to send Nashra Sandhu back off Sneh Rana. PAK 114/9 (36.5)
12:50 PM IST: India Need 2 Wickets
Fourth success for Rajeswari Gayakwad. Sidra Nawaz is trapped in front for 12. PAK 113/8
12:40 PM IST: India On Away To Victory
Rajeshwari Gayakwad takes her third wicket of the match. Fatima Sana goes for a fighting 35-ball 17, trapped LBW. PAK 98/7 (33.1)
12:26 PM IST: Brilliant Richa
Brilliant work behind the stumps from Richa Ghosh. Aliya Riaz is stumped off Rajeshwari Gayakwad. She goes back for 11. PAK 87/6 (30)
12:15 PM IST: God's Blessings
12:07 PM IST: Bengal Duo on Fire
The Bengal duo is working in sync in Mount Maunganui. Jhulan Goswami is doing the magic with the ball while her junior Richa Ghosh compliments her senior behind the wickets. Goswami sends back Sidra Ameen and Nida Dar in quick succession as Pakistan slump to 78/5 (25)
11:42 PM IST: India In Control
Two wickets in two overs for India. First, Richa Ghosh takes a brilliant low catch behind the stumps to dismiss Bismah Maroof off Deepti Sharma before Sneh Rana gets rid of Omaima Sohail for five. PAK 58/3 (18.2)
11:29 AM IST: In Check
Indian bowlers have so far did an incredible job by not letting Pakistan free their arms and leeping the NRR in check. This might hurt Pakistan in the later stages of the game. PAK 45/1 (16)
11:19 AM IST: Gayakwad Strikes
Rajeshwari Gayakwad strikes in her first over as India draw first blood. Javeria Khan hits straight to Jhulan Goswami at mid-on. PAK 28/1 (11)
11:04 AM IST: Men Grip Over SL
Back home in Mohali, India have their grip over the Sri Lankans as Ravindra Jadeja's double strike has left the Islanders to 173/8 on Day 3 of the first Test. .
10:47 AM IST: Tight Start
India couldn't have asked for a better start with their bowling. Defending 244, Jhulan Goswami and Meghna Singh have conceded just six runs in 36 balls so far.
Javeria Khan and Sidra Ameen are currently at the crease. PAK 6/0 (6)
10:09 AM IST: Updates From Home
Meanwhile, back in India, the men are trying to get their first breakthrough of the day. Sri Lanka are 140/4 on Day 3 in reply to India's 574/8 decl.
9:46 AM IST: India Finish at 244/7
Mithali Raj and head coach Ramesh Powar would be proud of how Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar have turned things around for India after being 114/6 at one stage. Pooja got out in the final over for 67 with eight fours. Sneh Rana remains unbeaten on 53. India finish at 244/7 with a boundary on the last ball. Time for bowlers to get into business now.
9:39 AM IST: 50 For Pooja
Fifty on World Cup debut for Pooja Vastrakar. What a knock it has been for her and what a time it has come for India. 1000run stand between Pooja and Sneh Rana. IND 215/6 (47)
9:34 AM IST: Brilliant Turnaround
What a turnaround for India in this match. After being reduced to 114/6, the duo of Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana have taken India past 200. IND 207/6 (46)
9:24 AM IST: Pooja, Sneh Take Game Away
Need to say Pakistan have given away the advantage in the last 10 overs. Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana stood up when it really mattered and MIthali Raj can breathe a bit easy in the dressing room. With the way the duo are playing, 250 looks a probability here. IND 188/6 (43)
9:11 AM IST: Much-Needed Stand
A much-needed fifty-run stand for the seventh wicket. Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana so far have stitched 56 runs in 48 balls. Pooja is batting on 35 while Sneh is providing solid support with an unbeaten 18. IND 170/6 (41)
8:52 AM IST: Tough Times
Anything around 200 from here will give Indian bowlers something to defend. Anything more than that is a pure bonus considering the fact the pitch is getting slower over by over. Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana are currently batting. IND 134/6 (37)
8:42 AM IST: Mithali Departs
Nashra Sandhu gets the big wicket of Mithali Raj. She goes back for 9 off 36 balls. IND 114/6 (33.1)
8:39 AM IST: Pakistan Strike Again
India are not playing like favourites here. From 96/1 in the 22nd over, the Women in Blue have gone down to 112/5 in the 31st over -- the latest is Richa Ghosh. Poor batting from Indians. IND 114/5 (33)
8:22 AM IST: Kaur Departs
Another Indian batter bites the dust as Harmanpreet Kaur is trapped in front by Nida Dar. India are surely giving Pakistan an advantage here. Richa Ghosh joins Mithali Raj in the middle. IND 108/4 (28.4)
8:05 AM IST: Pakistan On Top
Pakistan are back in the game with two quick wickets. After Deepti Sharma, now Smriti Mandhana departs giving a simple return catch to Anam Amin for 52. Two new batters in the crease -- Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur. IND 98/3 (24.1)
8:00 AM IST: Deepti Departs
Just after Smriti Mandhana completes her fifty, Deepti Sharma is clean bowled by a Nashra Sandhu delivery for 40. Deepti stands shocked. Pakistan have broken the partnership which was looking dangerous. IND 96/2 (22)
7:55 AM IST: 50 For Mandhana
Fifty for Smriti Mandhana with a single off Nashra Sandhu. Her 25th in ODIs. IND 96/1 (21.5)
7:52 AM IST: Milestone Alert
Smriti Mandhana becomes the fourth Indian woman to reach 2500 ODI runs. Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra and Harmanpreet Kaur are ahead of her.
7:48 AM IST: India cruise
Who will say Smriti Mandhana was hit on the head by a bouncer last week? She hit a half-century in a warm-up tie a couple of days later of that incident and the southpaw is cruising to another fifty today. The Smriti Mandhana-Deepti Sharma second-wicket stand has now grown to 81. IND 83/1 (19)
7:41 AM IST: Stat
Mithali Raj becomes the only female cricketer to play in six World Cups. Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan's Javed Miandad are the only two other cricketers in the world to have achieved the feat. Incredible list to join for Mithali.
7:20 AM IST: India Accelerate
India are slowly accelerating with Smriti Mandha leading the way after the initial setback. The last five overs have yielded India 32 runs compared to 15 in the first five. Smriti Mandhana is batting on 30 with Deepti Sharma (16) at the other end. IND 52/1 (13)
7:06 AM IST: Mandhana Leads The Way
Smriti Mandhana dances down the ground to hoist Nida Dar over mid-off for a six - the first of the match. IND 33/1 (10)
6:51 AM IST: India Go Slow
India are playing the wait and watch game. Both Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma are taking their time in the middle and are dealing in singles and doubles. Important for the duo to build a partnership here. IND 17/1 (6)
6:38 AM IST: Big Wicket
Big wicket for Pakistan. Shafali Verma is clean bowled by Diana Baig for a six-ball duck. What a start for Pakistan in this match. IND 4/1 (3)
6:30 AM IST: First Ball
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma start for India. Diana Baig with the ball for Pakistan.
6:10 AM IST: Playing XIs
Pakistan Women: Javeria Khan, Sidra Ameen, Bismah Maroof(c), Omaima Sohail, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Sidra Nawaz(w), Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Anam Amin
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
6:00 AM IST: Toss
Mithali Raj has won the toss and India will bat first
Preview
After coming close to winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup twice, India are in New Zealand for the 12th edition, looking to end the title drought. In the previous edition, India lost by nine runs in a thrilling final. India women are a lot wiser and also a lot hungrier. They have been camping in New Zealand for the last one month, fine-tuning, acclimatising and of course, playing a lot of matches. And a win against Pakistan will give India the so-called impetus needed in a long-haul tournament.
For Pakistan, realistically, a top-four finish will be counted as a good result. Their best result was a 5th place finish in 2009. In the last two editions, they finished last (8th). But, like every other team, Bismah Maroof & Co are also confident of pulling off something special.
Well, all to play for. Match starts 6:30 AM IST/2:00 PM local. Live action can be watched on Star Sports Network and live streaming is available on Disney+ Hotstar.
Likely XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Pakistan: Nahida Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Javeria Khan, Omaima Sohail, Bismah Maroof (c), Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Aiman Anwar.
Squads
India: Mithali Raj (c), Taniya Bhatia (wk), Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia.
Pakistan: Bismah Maroof (c), Sidra Nawaz (wk), Javeria Khan, Diana Baig, Nahida Khan, Nida Dar, Sidra Ameen, Anam Amin, Aliya Riaz, Muneeba Ali, Aiman Anwer, Ghulam Fatima, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana.
