Smriti Mandhana scripts history vs Pakistan, joins Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj to become…

ByTech Word News

Smriti Mandhana joined Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur as India’s joint top half-centuries in Women’s T20 World Cup history with her fifth fifty of the tournament to help India post 170 for 6 against Pakistan in their opener at Edgbaston on Sunday.Mandhana scored 68 off 44 balls and shared a 91-run partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (36 off 35 balls) after India were reduced to 18 for 2 at the start of the innings. Richa Ghosh then added 34 off 17 balls to give India a strong finish.With her innings, Mandhana moved level with Mithali and Harmanpreet on five scores of 50 or more in the Women’s T20 World Cup.Most 50+ scores for India in the Women’s T20 World Cup

  • 5 – Mithali Raj (23 innings)
  • 5 – Harmanpreet Kaur (34 innings)
  • 5 – Smriti Mandhana (26 innings)
  • 3 – Punam Raut (15 innings)

India got off to a poor start after losing Shafali Verma for 6 and Jemimah Rodrigues for 1 to slip to 18 for 2. Mandhana and Harmanpreet then rebuilt the innings carefully before raising the score.India were 30 for 2 at the end of the over, but the pair added runs quickly in the next seven overs. Mandhana reached her half-century in 34 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes during her knock.She survived two chances during her shift. First, the catch was dropped at mid off off the bowling of Tasmie Rubab. Later, a chance at wide long-on went through the fielder’s hands for a six by Sadia Iqbal.Mandhana’s innings ended when she mis-shot Rameen Shamim and Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana completed the catch.After her release, India briefly lost momentum. Bharti Fulmali was stumped for a duck while Harmanpreet fell for 36 when Natalia Pervaiz took a catch on the square leg edge off Fatima Sana.Richa Ghosh then provided a late push. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 34 off 17 balls as India conceded 23 runs from the penultimate over off the bowling of Rubab.For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal returned figures of 2 for 41 while captain Fatima Sana took 2 for 33.India eventually finished at 170 for 6, with Mandhana’s record-breaking half-century laying the foundation for the total.India won the match by 64 runs while Pakistan were bowled out for 106 in 17 overs.