In their eagerly awaited ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 match against Pakistan, India won by 88 runs to move up the points table with four points.
In the Sri Lankan capital, which serves as a neutral ground for all of Pakistan’s matches, bowlers-friendly conditions led to the hosts’ 247 in their 50 overs, having been bowled out on the final ball of their innings on Sunday.
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Kranti Goud, a young Indian seam bowler who took three wickets for 20 runs in her ten overs, immediately put Pakistan under pressure.
The opposition, who have now outlasted them in all 12 of their one-day internationals meetings, had a hard time coping with the conditions and weight of the team in green.
Due to the ongoing political unrest between the South Asian neighbors, who were involved in a four-day armed and aerial conflict in May, the match attracted more than usual attention.
No handshakes were exchanged at the toss or the end of the match, much like the men’s fixtures between the nations at the recent Asia Cup.
After a strong bowling performance on a pitch that had spent two days covered in Colombo due to the recent rain, the toss went Pakistan’s way and, having been placed, India mostly struggled to make ends meet.
The most obvious feature of the surface was the amount of moisture that was lost from the covers and the rain, despite the fact that there was still a lot of grass on the top.
Jemimah Rodrigues, India’s batter, noted at the time that the ball was “stopping” on the surface.
India received a strong, if slow, start in a 48-run partnership led by Pratika Rawal (23), and Smriti Mandhana (31), who trapped the former with Fatima Sana (39), who was trapped on the final ball of the ninth over.
Harleen Deol appeared to be anchoring the innings with a strong 45, but she slurped out long, giving Rameen Shamim (13) her only wicket and perhaps hoping for a big hit to reach the milestone.
India’s total, which did not exceed fifty, was their highest in ODI cricket. Many were unsure as to why the wicketkeeper-batter came in at only eight because Richa Ghosh’s unbeaten 35 off 20 threatened to prevent that statistic.
Even though Pakistan had a high economy rate, Seamer Diana Baig’s 4-69 was the bowling champion.
Due to the number of flies that had affected the play, the innings was also extended by 20 minutes when the players were ordered to leave the field. As players battled the bugs throughout, how well the measure actually worked was debated.
With a score of 26-3 in the 12th over, Pakistan couldn’t have had a worse start. Renuka Singh Thakur and Josh Goud’s swing was quickly becoming nearly unplayable.
After ending her spell without a wicket, Thakur was unlucky because of dropped catches and leg-before-wicket (LBW) choices that didn’t go her way or weren’t made by India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
Sidra Amin and Natalia Pervaiz put a 69 for the fourth wicket, which came after 16 overs, to start the fightback. Pakistan was struggling as a result of the slow start, and when Fatima was only able to score 2 off 14 balls, India’s grip on the game grew.
Pakistan were then bowled out in the following three overs when Amin’s wicket fell in the 40th over.
Sana, the captain of Pakistan, regretted the team’s inability to run out of runs and missteps because she believed India should have been restricted to a sub-200 total.
After the match, she said, “We gave away a lot of runs in the first half of the powerplay.” We also distributed some extra runs during the death overs.
Kaur, India’s captain, praised her bowling attack in full.
In her post-match comments, Kaur praised “Kranti]Goud] for being outstanding. The spinners also contributed to scientific discoveries. We had a lot of chances, but we only managed a few. We are ultimately content, “.”
On Thursday, India travels back to their home country to face South Africa in the final match of their group.
On Wednesday, Pakistan will play their final game against defending champions Australia in Colombo.
