India thrash Pakistan by 7 wickets in Women's T20 World Cup, cricket world showers praise

India on Sunday defeated Pakistan in their opening match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023. India won the match by 7 wickets with 6 balls remaining. Jemimah Rodrigues played a crucial role with the bat to help India hand Pakistan yet another defeat in the World Cup. With the win, India have now moved to the second position on the Group 2 points table, right below Heather Knight's women.  

Former players Dinesh Karthik and VVS Laxman are among the big names from the cricketing world who have reacted to India's massive win over Pakistan. "WHAT A WIN! The second-highest successful run chase in Women’s #T20WorldCup history. Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh were extra specials in a thrilling run chase. Great start to the tournament, best wishes," Laxman wrote on Twitter. 

India vs Pakistan

As far as the match is concerned, Pakistan Women won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan scored 149/4 in 20 overs thanks to a brilliant knock from skipper Bismah Maroof, who remained unbeaten at 68 off 55 balls. She was provided held from the other end by Ayesha Naseem, who scored 43 not out off 25 balls. India only managed to pick four wickets in the innings with Radha Yadav taking two catches and Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar picking one each. 

In the second innings, Rodrigues played one of the best knocks of her career to help India finish the chase. She smashed an unbeaten 53 off 38 balls including eight boundaries. Richa Ghosh also played a superb knock to score 31 not out off just 20 balls. Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur scored 33 and 16 runs each. Rodrigues was named the player of the match for her outstanding knock. 

Image: Twitter/ICC