Jemimah-Richa masterclass helps India beat Pakistan in Newlands thriller

Experienced batter Jemimah Rodrigues produced a master class of an innings as she and youngster Richa Ghosh held their nerves under pressure to guide India to a sevenwicket win over archrivals Pakistan in their opening match of the Womens T20 World Cup here on SaturdayJemimah 53 not out off 38 balls and Richa 31 not out off 20 balls stitched 58 runs for the unconquered fourth wicket as India chased down a challenging target of 150 with six balls to spareJemimah struck eight boundaries while Richa hit five fours during their unbeaten knocks as India reached 151 for 3 in 19 overs their highest successful chase in the T20 World CupShafali Verma 33 off 25 balls and Yastika Bhatia 17 gave a good start to the Indian run chase stitching 38 runs in 53 overs The powerplay overs yielded 43 runs for one wicketShafali who successfully reviewed a LBW decision in the fourth over was going strong as she took the attack to the opposition bowlers But her dismissal in the 10th over with Sidra Ameen taking a fine catch near the boundary off the bowling of Nashra Sandhu set India on the backfootOnedown Jemimah survived a close stumping call as India reached 67 for 2 at the halfway mark with the experienced captain Harmanpreet Kaur having arrived at the creaseAlso Read Womens T20 World Cup Interesting stats that construe the importance of India vs PakistanHarmanpreet struck a boundary from the third delivery she faced and repeated it in the same 11th over to swell the Indian total But she was guilty of trying to slogsweep across the line and against the turn off the bowling of Fatima SanaThe top edge was easily taken by Bismah Maroof as India were reduced to 93 for 3 in 133 oversIndia needed 83 runs from the last 10 overs and despite the fall of crucial wickets the good start and batting depth kept India in the hunt But run rate kept climbing for India as they needed 47 from the last five oversWith Jemimah and new batter Richa getting the boundaries often the equation became 28 runs from three oversRicha turned the match on its head as she hit three successive boundaries in the first three balls of the 18th over bowled by Aiman Anwer Ghosh was smart enough to send two widish deliveries to the fenceAlso Read India vs Pakistan Womenrsquos T20 World Cup Headtohead preview stats amp squadsNeeding 14 from the last two overs Jemimah struck three fours in the penultimate over to end the match in a jiffyEarlier Pakistan posted 149 for 4 after electing to bat their highest T20 World Cup totalPakistan were reduced to 43 for 3 in the eighth over but they made a brilliant recovery scoring 91 runs in the second half of their innings with captain Bismah Maroof 68 not out and Ayesha Naseem 43 not out stitching 81 runs for the unconquered fifth wicketMaroof struck seven fours during her 55ball unbeaten knock while Naseem hit two fours and two sixes from 25 balls during her unbeaten inningsPakistan scored 91 runs from the second half of their innings and 58 from the last five overs as Maroof and Naseem frustrated the Indian bowlers for more than eight overs to take their side to a challenging totalFor India leftarm spinner Radha Yadav was the most successful bowler with figures of 221 while Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar got one wicket eachIndia did not take long to get the breakthrough with inform offspinner Deepti Sharma dismissing Pakistan opener Javeria Khan 8 in the second over with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur taking an easy catch at short fine leg after the batter had struck a boundary in the previous ballPakistan showed attacking intent even after the early jolt as captain and onedown Bismah Maroof hit two consecutive boundaries in the fourth over Pakistan were 39 for one at the end of powerplay oversA change in bowling yielded success for the Indians as leftarm spinner Radha Yadav removed the other opener Muneeba Ali 12 in the seventh over A smart review by the Indians in the next over resulted to another wicket as Nida Dar was ruled out as there was a slight touch of the ball on her gloves off Pooja VastrakarThe two quick wickets set Pakistan on the backfoot from a promising position as they were reduced to 58 for 3 at the halfway markThe experienced Maroof was going strong and held one end together but wickets fell around her including that of Sidra Ameen 11 who became Yadavs second victim in the 13th overWith the arrival of Ayesha Naseem in the 13th over Pakistan pressed the accelerator as she made scoring look easy with a six and four off Renuka Singh in the 16th overThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever