During the fourth match of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup between India Women and Pakistan Women in Cape Town, India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets to kick-start the tournament with a victory.
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A common element between both the innings was unbeaten partnerships changing the course of the innings. With both the fielding captains found wanting at one point in time, India benefited from being asked to chase a total at the toss.
While Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof (68*) and batter Ayesha Naseem (43*) put together a 47-ball 81-run fifth-wicket partnership to power the team to 149/4 in 20 overs, India batter Jemimah Rodrigues (53*) and wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (31*) shared a match-winning 33-ball 58-run partnership for the fourth wicket to seal a 150-run chase in 19 overs.
IND vs PAK Man of the Match today
Rodrigues, 22, scored her 10th T20I half-century to become the pick of the Indian batters in a much-needed situation. With vice-captain Smriti Mandhana not playing the match and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (16) not playing as well as the team wanted her to, it was imperative for one of the top-order Indian batters to play such an innings.
Ghosh, on the other hand, justified her big-hitting potential yet again by hitting five fours at a strike rate of 155 in a crunch situation. It is worth mentioning that Rodriques and Ghosh’s efforts powered India to the second-highest run-chase in the history of Women’s T20 World Cup. Overall, it is India’s third-highest run-chase in this format.
Rodrigues, who hit eight fours at a strike rate of 139.47, was adjudged the Player of the Match and rightly so. In what is her fifth T20I match award, the right-handed batter dedicated it to her parents.
“I don’t know what to say. I knew building partnerships, taking it deep [and] we’d end up chasing. This innings is really special to me. I haven’t been getting runs for a while but I’ve stuck to his processes. God is grateful, he takes care of the rest. I want to dedicate this to my parents, they are here at the stadium. This knock goes out to them,” Rodrigues told host broadcaster Star Sports Network after the match.
