India secured a commanding seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai on Saturday, delivering a clinical performance that saw their opponents bowled out for just 55 runs. This total marked Pakistan’s lowest score in T20 international history, falling well short of their previous record low against India of 63, and their 56-run total against New Zealand during the 2024 Women’s World Cup.
The match concluded in just over two hours, significantly faster than the scheduled four-hour window. India’s pursuit of the 56-run target was swift, despite a brief period of resistance from the Pakistani bowling attack. India reached the winning total in 8.4 overs, losing three wickets in the process.
Shafali Verma initiated the chase with a six on the opening ball, but Pakistan’s captain, Fatima Sana, briefly stalled the momentum. Sana dismissed Verma off her own bowling and then had Prateeka Rawal caught by Muneeba three balls later, leaving India at 18/2. Sana further tightened the pressure by trapping Smriti Mandhana leg-before-wicket in her subsequent over. However, Harmanpreet Kaur, who contributed 18 runs, and Deepti Sharma, who added 12, played with composure to guide India to victory.
Pakistan’s innings began with a steady opening partnership between Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar, though the pair survived early scares when Prateeka Rawal dropped two catches off Muneeba while she was on six. The breakthrough finally arrived when Shafali Verma rattled Muneeba’s stumps after the batter exposed her wickets while attempting a square shot, ending the opening stand at 27 runs.
The dismissal triggered a catastrophic collapse for Pakistan, who plummeted from 27/0 to 35/6. Shree Charani proved instrumental in the dismantling of the top order, claiming three wickets. She first induced a leading edge from Gull Feroza, which was caught by Nandani Sharma, and four balls later, trapped Shawaal Zulfiqar in front of the stumps.
The pressure continued to mount as the Indian bowlers strategically placed fielders on the off side, forcing the Pakistani batters into errors. Ayesha Zafar fell to this tactic when she top-edged a flighted delivery from Charani into the hands of Harmanpreet Kaur. Shortly after, Sadaf Shamas, Sadaf Shamas was dismissed when she missed a delivery that deflected off her pads onto the stumps.
Captain Fatima Sana struggled to find her rhythm, facing seven balls without scoring before Deepti Sharma trapped her leg-before-wicket. While Eyman Fatima and Umm-e-Haani attempted a brief recovery with a 10-run partnership, the momentum shifted back to India when Eyman was run out attempting a risky single.
Prema Rawat finished the innings with a three-wicket haul, removing Umm-e-Haani and Nashra Sandhu, while Deepti Sharma completed the rout by stumping Tuba Hassan. The result extends India’s historical dominance over Pakistan in the format, with India now having won 14 of their 17 T20 encounters. Furthermore, India maintains a perfect record against Pakistan in ODIs, having won all 18 of their previous meetings. The report also notes that mohammad Abdullah covers major sports event like FIFA WC, Cricket WC and Formula One. The report also notes that however, Pakistan did manage to make some inroads with a brief fightback. The report also notes that both the openers were cruising along nicely without any problem. The report also notes that after hitting Shafali for a boundary, Muneeba again gave herself room to in a bid to hit her square off the wicket.
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