T20 World Cup: Jemimah’s masterclass helps India beat Pakistan

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India kickstart their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a win against arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets. All eyes were on the highly-anticipated clash of the marquee event between the two sides.

Opting to bat first, Bismah Maroof led from the front playing a captain’s knock after early jolts to the Green Brigade. Openers Muneeba Ali and Javeria Khan failed to hit the ground running as they were swiftly dismissed at scores of 12 and eight runs respectively which handed a massive blow to the side early on in the contest.

Despite that, skipper Bismah stood firm and carved out a rather delicate knock. A brilliant 81-run partnership with Ayesha Naseem, who came lower down the order helped the side to revive after an early stutter in the high-octane clash.

Meanwhile, the lack lustre fielding by India saw them drop Ayesha Naseem on two occasions. This eventually cost them runs as the batter targeted the bowling unit soon after she felt settled. Due to the magnificent partnership, Pakistan posted a competitive total of 149 runs in their stipulated 20 overs. Interestingly, this was also the Women in Green’s highest total against the Indian side in T20 World Cup.

Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh dazzle in India’s chase

In response to the total, India were handed a decent head start courtesy of their openers – Shafali and Yastika. However, just when the duo was getting into the groove, Sadia Iqbal got the vital scalp of Yastika.

Meanwhile, Shafali continued to play her natural game. She was sent packing at an individual score of 33 off 25 balls by Nashra Sandhu. In came Jemimah Rodrigues, who along with Richa Ghosh stitched the all-important partnership of 58 runs to help the side get ahead in the contest.

Jemimah then shifted gears and scored an unbeaten 53 off 38 to hand India their first win of the tournament. She was eventually awarded the Player of the Match.