This was a familiar World Cup story: India met Pakistan and for all the talk of history, handshakes and millions of eyeballs, the contest was settled with little drama by the team in blue. Smriti Mandhana started with 68 off 44 balls before Deepti Sharma cleaned up in the second half, taking five for 10 as Harmanpreet Kaur’s side began their tournament with a 64-run victory in Birmingham.
Pakistan began well with both bat and ball; chasing 171, they ended the powerplay on 52 for one, Muneeba Ali finding some flow. But Deepti, player of the tournament at last year’s ODI World Cup, built up the dots with her off-breaks and the danger of an upset quickly subsided. Pakistan struggled to launch spin, routinely finding fielders in the covers as they fell to 79 for six inside 13 overs. Deepti delivered away from the crease, too, running out Muneeba with a direct hit for 41 as Pakistan fell to their fourth consecutive Twenty20 defeat by India.
