India Begin World Cup Campaign With A 107-Run Win Over Pakistan

Cricket Image for India Begin World Cup Campaign With A 107-Run Win Over Pakistan (Image Source: Twitter)

India vs Pakistan: Rajeshwari Gayakwad's four-wicket haul and a terrific batting finish helped India begin the World Cup campaign with a 107-run win over Pakistan. 

Chasing 245, things started slow for Pakistan as India bowled tight lines, not allowing the opening batters - Sidra Ameen and Javeria Khan - to break free. The pressure helped India get the first wicket in the 11th over of Javeria for 11. 

Post that, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and was unable to build partnerships. Gayakwad picked up four wickets, Jhulan Goswami & Sneh Rana got two, while Meghna Singh & Deepti Sharma picked a wicket each as Pakistan was bowled out for 137 in 43 overs. 

Earlier, Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana's late blitz helped India reach 244/7 in the first innings. 

Opting to bat first, India lost Shafali Verma early in the inning but Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma added 92 runs for the second wicket to set the platform for India. Deepti got out for 40 and soon Mandhana also departed, scoring 52. 

India then lost four quick wickets and was reduced 114/6 from 96/1 at one stage. 

Rana and Vastrakar joined the crease and began the rebuilding process. The duo smacked the Pakistani bowlers all around the ground, adding 122 runs in 97 balls for the seventh wicket and taking India to 244/7 at the end. Sneh scored 53* while Pooja hit 67 in 59 balls. 

For Pakistan, Nida Dar and Nashra Sandhu took two wickets each while the rest of the bowlers got one each. 

Brief Scorecard: 

India - 244/7 

Pakistan - 137/10 in 43 overs