There was little to suggest the tide was about to turn when Pakistan raced to 37/0 after four overs. India’s seamers looked ineffective, and Shreyanka Patil had just conceded 12 runs in her second over. Harmanpreet Kaur needed someone to wrest back control, and she turned to the one bowler she trusted most.
Deepti Sharma had not bowled in the warm-up matches, and her recent returns had been modest, but she responded with a spell that flipped the contest on its head. Operating with subtle changes of pace and flight, she took the sting out of Pakistan’s powerplay and dragged the tempo down to her rhythm. The ball was slower through the air, the lengths fuller, and suddenly the surface that had looked friendly to batting began to grip and misbehave.
The breakthrough came almost immediately. Gull Feroza’s attempted reverse sweep found backward point, before Ayesha Zafar, looking to work it into the leg side, only succeeded in looping a simple catch to Smriti Mandhana at short fine leg. Pakistan’s brisk start stalled in an instant, replaced by hesitation and accumulating pressure.
From there, Deepti never let go of control. Natalia Pervaiz survived an lbw review only on the umpire’s call, a moment that underlined how close Pakistan were to slipping further behind in the game. Deepti repeatedly drew Muneeba Ali into uncertain strokes, beating her in flight, dragging her forward, then forcing her back again. Even when wickets did not fall, the equation shifted. Dot balls became the dominant currency, and Pakistan’s early momentum evaporated under the weight of her accuracy.
The decisive blow in the field only underlined her influence. In her follow-through, Deepti reacted sharply to a straight drive from Muneeba Ali and combined with Richa Ghosh to run out the set batter for 41. It was the moment Pakistan’s chase truly began to unravel, their anchor removed at the precise point they needed stability.
If Deepti applied the squeeze, Sree Charani ensured there was no escape route. The left-arm spinner settled immediately into disciplined lines, attacking the stumps and forcing Pakistan’s middle order into manufactured strokes. She struck in her very first over when Saira Jabeen closed the bat face too early and offered a simple catch to Harmanpreet Kaur at short cover.
Charani’s control allowed India to double down on the pressure created at the other end. Muneeba’s resistance faded, Natalia Pervaiz miscued again, and Pakistan’s innings disintegrated under mounting scoreboard pressure. The chase, once at 37 without loss, unravelled into a collapse as India’s spinners dictated every phase.
Deepti’s spell, however, stood apart. She finished with 5/10 in four overs, a performance that not only broke Pakistan’s back but also elevated her into becoming the leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals. It was a spell that defined the contest and ensured India opened their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a commanding win.
Mandhana shines
Before Deepti could weave her magic, it was Smriti Mandhana who played arguably the most valuable innings of her T20 World Cup career. Her 68 off 44 balls helped India recover from an early wobble and post a competitive score.
Shafali Verma fell in the opening over, and Jemimah Rodrigues soon followed for one, leaving India wobbling at 18 for 2 inside the powerplay. Pakistan kept Mandhana under constant examination, rotating their attack and denying her rhythm through the first phase.
The surface was slow, the ball held up, and the boundaries were hard to come by. Yet Mandhana resisted any urge to force the issue. She worked the gaps, nudged into the leg side, and kept the scoreboard moving with soft hands and sharp strike rotation, slowly rebuilding India’s innings while absorbing the pressure at the other end.
Her innings could easily have ended on 28. Attempting to clear the infield off Sadia Iqbal, she miscued a lofted stroke, only for Aliya Riaz to spill a straightforward chance at mid-off. It was a moment Pakistan would come to regret as Mandhana grew into complete control of the innings.
If there was one shot that defined Mandhana’s knock, it was the inside-out loft over the covers. Again and again, she skipped down the pitch, created room and elegantly lifted Pakistan’s spinners over the off-side ring. Whether it was Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal or Rameen Shamim, Mandhana trusted her footwork, met the ball on the rise and pierced the field with impeccable timing. It became the defining stroke of the innings and Pakistan never found an answer.
Her fifty arrived off just 34 balls with yet another trademark inside-out boundary in the 12th over, by which time India had shifted gears decisively. Mandhana eventually perished for 68 off 44, trying to clear long-on once too often. Yet, Mandhana’s dismissal in the 14th over meant India needed a final flourish to reach a competitive score and that impetus came from Richa Ghosh’s bat, who made 34 in 17 balls including 23 runs from Tasmia Rubab’s 19th over which took her side to a score that was eventually out of Pakistan’s reach.
Brief scores: India 170/6 in 20 ovs (Smriti Mandhana 68, Harmanpreet Kaur 35) beat Pakistan 106 all out in 17 ovs (Muneeba Ali 41; Deepti Sharma 5/10, Sree Charani 3/21) by 64 runs.
India's Deepti Sharma celebrates taking the wicket of Pakistan's Tasmia Rubab during the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, Group 1 cricket match between India and Pakistan in Birmingham, England, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (Jacob King/PA via AP) 
Share
