The onset of monsson in Colombo meant the central square was replete with moisture, along with a tinge of grass to offer ideal bowling conditions to seamers. However, once the clouds cleared an hour into the game, the dry nature of the surface began to shwocase itself.
There were high levels of humidity but rain steered clear of the high-billing encounter, allowing it to last its entire length.
Toss
India won the toss and chose to bowl first under the overcast Colombo sky.
Lineups
India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani
Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (c), Sidra Nawaz (wk), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal
Match Report
Asked to bat first, Pakistan openers Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin got off to a confident start with a boundary each against Amanjot Kaur with the new ball and managed to survive the powerplay unbeaten at 36/0. India’s spin twins Deepti Sharma and Sneh Raha exerted further pressure once the field spread to continue strangling the Women in Green but the partnership kept growing slowly to 66. It took a magical turning delivery from Shree Charani to finally give India their first breakthrough in the 21st over, as Muneeba departed for 32. Nevertheless, Omaima Sohail ensured there were no repeat antics from last game by settling in alongside Amin before taking to the attack with consecutive boundaries. However, as soon as the partnership crossed 50, Sohail tried to play a shot too many and holed out off Deepti. The veteran spinner then got rid of Amin in her next over with some ungodly drift in the Colombo breeze, rattling middle stump to leave the scorecard at 110/3 after 30. Thus began a procession of wickets, as Nataliya Pervaiz departed after a run-a-ball 18 whie Fatima Sana managed a paltry eight. Aliya Riaz was the only one who sparked any hope, counterattacking with a 56-ball 46 laden with three boundaries and the only maximum of Pakistan’s innings. Once she fell to Deepti with six overs to go, the side collapsed from 173/5 to 197/9 but managed to play out their entire quota of overs.
In response, Smriti Mandhana came out of the gates flying, dispatching six fours in the powerplay while Pratika Rawal accumulated along at the other end to take the team past 50. However, Nashra Sandhu disrupted momentum by scalping Rawal and Harleen Deol in quick succession, bringing about a slow down in proceedings. Nevertheless, Smriti stabilized alongside skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, the former eventually bringing up a 61-ball fifty with India well ahead of the required rate. By the time Pakistan broke the 71-run stand in the 29th over, the Women in Blue required just 66 for victory. Pakistan evoked hopes of a surprise twist when they removed Smriti for 73 10 deliveries later, but Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh took India within sight of the chequered flag with a measured 43-run stand before Deepti fittingly scored the winning runs with a boundary.
Player of the Match
Deepti Sharma was named player of the match for rattling Pakistan’s middle order and playing a critical role in restricting them to 197/9 with figures of 10-2-32-3.
Scorecard