Indian women crush Pakistan by 107 runs, begin World Cup campaign on high note
Mount Maunganui(PTI): The Indian team thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by 107 runs to begin their campaign in the ICC Women's World Cup on a rousing note here on Sunday, the much-anticipated face-off ending in a no contest.
Opting to bat after the coin landed in India's favour, in-form opener Smriti Mandhana, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar struck useful half-centuries to help their team recover from an early wobble and post 244 for seven at the Bay Oval.
Chasing a tricky target of 245, the Pakistan team fell way short of the mark and was all out for 137 in 43 overs, losing its 11th straight game against neighbours India in the 50-over format.
Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad did the star turn with the ball, returning with excellent figures of 4/31 after her full quota of 10 overs. Seasoned pacer Jhulan Goswami bowled very well to finish the game with impressive figures of 2/29, while there were also two wickets for Rana (2/27), capping off her fine all-round show.
To start with however, the Indians found themselves under pressure after opener Shafali Verma was dismissed for a duck in the third over.
A 92-run stand between Mandhana (52 off 75 balls) and Deepti Sharma (40 off 57) helped steady the ship.
However, Pakistan came back strongly by claiming a flurry of wickets, including the scalps of skipper Mithali Raj (9) and her deputy Haramanpreet Kaur (5).
It wasn't a good outing for Raj with the willow but, by turning out in the India jersey on Sunday, the veteran 39-year-old became only the third cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar and Javed Miandad to appear in six World Cups and the first woman to achieve the feat.
Raj, though, would take her cheap dismissal in her stride as her team achieved the result it sought.
After the early dismissal of Shafali, the duo of Mandhana and Deepti got together to first steady the innings and then build a foundation for Rana and Vastrakar to take their team closer to 250.
Rana (53 not out) and Vastrakar (67) shared a crucial 122-run partnership -- the highest for the seventh wicket in ICC Women's World Cups -- to help boost the India total.
From the Pakistan point of view, the stand between Rana and Vastrakar hit them hard as they were hoping to restrict India after reducing them to 114 for six at one point.
Mandhana and Deepti were dismissed within a few overs of each other. Deepti missed a sweep and was bowled by Nashra Sundhu for 40, and Mandhana followed suit 13 balls later, giving a return catch to Anam Amin.
The rest of the batters failed to build on the foundation laid by Mandhana and Deepti as the likes of Raj, Kaur and Richa Ghosh fell in quick succession to leave their team in a spot of bother.
Pakistan had their tails up at that stage of the game but, batting in the lower order, Rana and Vastrakar had other ideas and displayed immense grit to pull India out of trouble.
For Pakistan, spinners Nida Dar (2/45) and Nashra Sandhu (2/36) snared two wickets each.
In reply, Pakistan were precariously placed at 78 for five at the halfway point in their innings, 167 runs away from a win.
India were rewarded for some tight bowling early on, limiting Pakistan to just 26 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. The pressure got to the openers as Javeria Khan departed in the 11th over, trying to take the aerial route.
After that, the Indian spinners continued to keep a lid on the scoring, with Deepti and Rana taking the important wickets of Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof and Omaima Sohail respectively.
Goswami then got into the act, dismissing the settled Sidra Ameen, who was caught behind. Jhulan struck again in her next over to remove Dar for 4 as Pakistan stared at a big defeat.
It was pleasing to see Jhulan, even after so many years, running in hard and giving everything for her team.
This is Pakistan's 15th defeat while chasing in the Women's World Cup games.
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Kho Kho World Cup: Indian women's team crowned champion
New Delhi: The Indian women's team emerged champion in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup with a dominant 78-40 victory in the summit clash against Nepal here on Sunday.
On a memorable night at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, India produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show.
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best form with multiple touch points to her name, as the hosts started off in an excellent manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team.
Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and B Samjhana eliminated Priyanka Ingle but B Chaithra took India's first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run.
๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 19, 2025
Congratulations to #TeamIndia women for claiming the ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐#KhoKhoWorldCup #KKWC2025 #TheWorldGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWCWomen pic.twitter.com/tqlBPbTIdc
It wasn't for long, though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.
India were once again the dominant force in Turn 3, never allowing the Nepal defenders to settle in their stride. BK Dipa was a regular for Nepal but it went in vain throughout, ensuring that the Indians edged closer to the trophy.
Chaithra was the orchestrator of the Dream Run for India, taking the score to a massive 78 points in Turn 4. Their batch went on for a massive 5 minutes and 14 seconds, closing out the game for India and confirming them as the first-ever champions of the Kho Kho World Cup.
India's path to glory had included commanding victories over South Korea, Iran and Malaysia in the group stages, followed by triumph against Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and a masterful win over South Africa in the semi-finals.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐||
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 19, 2025
Indian๐ฎ๐ณ Women's Team beats Nepal 78-40; Clinches the inaugural #KhoKhoWorldCup Trophy. #Finals | #KhoKhoWorldCup | #TheWorldGoesKho | #BharatvsNepal | @Kkwcindia | @Media_SAI | @YASMinistry | pic.twitter.com/mh8NJuD6RX
