Rodrigues, Ghosh punish sloppy Pakistan to seal tense chase
Unbeaten knocks from Bismah Maroof and Ayesha Sameen went in vain after they had pushed Pakistan to a challenging total
Unbeaten knocks from Bismah Maroof and Ayesha Sameen went in vain after they had pushed Pakistan to a challenging total
Scorer: Binoy George | Commentator: Sreshth Shah
And that is all from us from this game. The action continues on Super Sunday though. Bangladesh v Sri Lanka starts shortly on the same ground, and if you care for some men's cricket, then the ILT20 final is currently underway. Thank you for your company for this classic encounter. See you around very soon.
Losing captain Bismah Maroof: "We were good at many times, but we did some mistakes as a bowling unit. Lot of learnings, planning to be better next game. (Batting innings of Pakistan) The roles we have given to the girls, they played well. The role Ayesha had was crucial at the time."
Winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur: Pakistan batted well but end of the day we wanted to win the game. Jemimah and Richa batted really well. All the players are keen to do well for the team. Whoever is getting an opportunity is pushing themselves. Good sign for us. (First game a win) Every match is important, no matter the opponent, but obviously Pakistan is a big game. Crowd was good. (Before next game?) We'll love to have some time in the nets. We want to work on a few things."
So India win with an over to spare, the game was closer than what the scorecard will suggest, and Rodrigues is the Player of the Match today. She says, "I actually don't know what to say. I knew we had to build partnerships. I knew if we take it deep we will win. Richa and I had a good partnership against Bangladesh too. This innings means a lot to me. Hadn't been getting scores for a long time." She thanks God and her family too before saying "we were just taking it over-by-over. If we knew we were there till the end, we would win. We knew they would bowl a bad ball eventually and we would capitalise. It was a difficult wicket but being set helped. This was a team effort. We will let the win sink in, but the tournament has just begun. We want to do the simple things correctly. The results will take care of themselves."
Abhishek: "Amazing display by the middle order. With Smriti Mandhana joining the team at top, this will be the team to beat. "
Stat alert: India's highest successful chase at the T20 World Cup. It is also the second-highest run-chase of all time at the T20 World Cup.
6.10pm Rodrigues reaches fifty with that winning boundary, and raises her bat, finishing on 53. Right up there as one of her best. Richa Ghosh with a cameo to remember too, one that helped India negate what Ayesha Naseem did in the first innings. Remember, Rodrigues wasn't even in the squad for the previous T20 World Cup - so this would've been an innings she would've desperately wanted too. A sigh of relief for the two batters as they walk back to hugs and handshakes.
Vicky: "Pakistan lost it in the last 12 balls they bowled... just too many boundaries..."
India one shot away from victory.
Meanwhile, the Indian Super League reaches its business end, with six teams now fighting it out for four remaining playoff spots. Read ESPN India's lowdown on who can qualify and how.
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Unbeaten knocks from Bismah Maroof and Ayesha Sameen went in vain after they had pushed Pakistan to a challenging total
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