India started their Women's World Cup campaign with a comfortable win against Pakistan. For that, they needed a record-breaking seventh-wicket partnership of 122 runs between Pooja Vastrakar (67) and Sneh Rana (53*), followed by an excellent all-round bowling performance.
Mithali Raj won the toss and decided to bat as India decided to go with three pacers and three spinners, opting for all-rounder Sneh Rana instead of top-order batter Yastika Bhatia. Pakistan went in with five bowlers, including all-rounders Nida Dar and Fatima Sana, dropping the experienced Nahida Khan.
Pakistan had an excellent start when Diana Baig uprooted Shafali Verma’s leg stump in the third over. Verma got a duck in her first ever World Cup match. Deepti Sharma joined Smriti Mandhana, and India managed only 33 in the first 10 overs, including a six by Mandhana off the last ball of the 10th over. However once set, both rotated the strike and played their shots.
Mandhana reached her fifty in 71 balls and looked good for more. However, off the very next ball, Nashra Sandhu claimed Sharma for 40. Mandhana then hit one back to Anam Amin for 52. This triggered a collapse. Dar got Harmanpreet Kaur (5) and Richa Ghosh (1), while Sandhu ended Raj's struggle, for a 36-ball 9. From 96/1, India slipped to 114/6, a slight improvement on their 111/6 from the 2017 World Cup.
Vastrakar and Rana then led India's resurgence, picking up quick singles and dispatching loose balls to the boundary. Vastrakar, the more attacking of the two, raced to 33 in 29 balls as India reached 160/6 after 40 overs. They looked out of trouble, but still needed to score above 200 to put Pakistan under pressure. Rana joined in the fun once India reached 200. Vastrakar’s fifty took 48 balls, and Rana's 45, as India finished on 244/7.
The target was too steep for Pakistan, whose batters have struggled to break the shackles in recent past. They began cautiously against controlled, tight seam bowling from Jhulan Goswami and Meghna Singh, managing just eight runs in seven overs. They lost their first wicket in the 11th over, after which the floodgates opened.
Opener Sidra Ameen top-scored with thirty, while six other Pakistan batters reached double figures. But none of them could stay longer in the middle. With 4-31, Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the pick of the Indian bowlers, while Goswami got Ameen and Dar in her second spell. Rana, too, rounded off her day with two wickets. Richa Ghosh, who failed with the bat today, became the only wicketkeeper to effect five dismissals on World Cup debut.
Pakistan eventually folded for 137 in the 43rd over as India began their World Cup with a 107-run win. Vastrakar, who did not have to bowl, got her first Player-of-the-Match award.
Pakistan’s next face Australia on Tuesday, while India meet hosts New Zealand on Thursday.
India 244/7 (Pooja Vastrakar 67; Nashra Sandhu 2-36) beat Pakistan 137 (Sidra Ameen 30; Rajeshwari Gayakwad 4-31) by 107 runs. Player of the Match: Pooja Vastrakar.