Jemimah Shines as India Dominates Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup Victory

India Women's cricket team kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign with a triumph over their arch-rivals Pakistan. Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues and young batter Richa Ghosh guided India to a seven-wicket victory in the opening match.

Ritu Kataria Ritu Kataria
Feb 13, 2023 - 07:14 Updated: Feb 13, 2023 - 07:14
Jemimah Shines as India Dominates Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup Victory
Jemimah Shines as India Dominates Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup Victory

New Delhi : India Women's cricket team kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign with a triumph over their arch-rivals Pakistan. Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues and young batter Richa Ghosh guided India to a seven-wicket victory in the opening match. The experienced Jemimah (53 not out) and Richa (31 not out) put on an undefeated 58 runs for the fourth wicket, allowing India to chase down a challenging target of 150 with six balls to spare.

The Indian team got off to a good start with Shafali Verma (33) and Yastika Bhatia (17) stitching 38 runs in 5.3 overs. The power play overs produced 43 runs for one wicket. Shafali was in fine form before being dismissed in the 10th over. Jemimah survived a close stumping call, and the team reached 67 for 2 at the halfway point. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur then arrived at the crease and added some crucial runs, but she was dismissed by Bismah Maroof, reducing India to 93 for 3.

Despite the fall of key wickets, the good start and batting depth kept India in the hunt, but the run rate kept climbing. Jemimah and Richa stepped up and hit boundaries, bringing the equation to 28 runs from three overs. Richa then hit three consecutive boundaries in the 18th over, and Jemimah hit three fours in the penultimate over to end the match.

Pakistan posted 149 for 4 after opting to bat first, with Bismah Maroof (68 not out) and Ayesha Naseem (43 not out) scoring 81 runs for the fifth wicket. Maroof struck seven fours in her 55-ball knock while Naseem hit two fours and two sixes. India's left-arm spinner Radha Yadav was the most successful bowler with 2/21, and Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar took one wicket each.

India got off to a good start, with Deepti Sharma dismissing opener Javeria Khan in the second over, and Radha Yadav removing the other opener in the seventh over. The quick wickets set Pakistan back, but Maroof and Naseem frustrated the Indian bowlers to take their side to a challenging total.

Player of the match Jemimah Rodrigues was overjoyed with her performance, saying, “This innings means a lot to me. Hadn’t been getting scores for a long time." Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur complimented Jemimah and Richa, saying they played really well and adding that the successful chase gave the team a lot of confidence. However, she also said that the team needs more net sessions to work on a few things.

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