IND W VS PAK W MATCH 2

Right then, that's all from this opening day action of the 2024 Women's Asia Cup. Earlier in the day, Nepal got the better of the UAE before India kickstarted their title defence with a thumping win over Pakistan. Next up, India will lock horns with UAE on Sunday, July 21 with the first ball to be bowled at 2 pm IST (8.30 am GMT). We look forward to having your company then. Until then, take care and cheers!

Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper of India Women says that the bowlers and openers did the job and first games are always important to set the tone and the entire team played really well. Adds that the bowlers got them the early breakthrough and in batting, both Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave them a solid start to set the tempo in both the innings. Concludes that they will look to keep playing fearless cricket and carry on the same heading into the World Cup.

Deepti Sharma is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her brilliance with the ball. She feels happy to contribute and is delighted with the way she executed her plans. States that having the belief is important and always looks to bowl in the right areas. Feels that camps before the tournament helped her and she is reaping the rewards of the work put in by her after the South Africa series. Tells that she was not aware that she crossed 250 international wickets but she is pleased to know that.

Nida Dar, the skipper of Pakistan Women says they lost both the powerplays and they struggled with the bat first and then with the ball. Further adds that they will need to go back to the drawing board, come out stronger and look to capitalize the powerplays. Concludes that they will plan out things better for the next game.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, the toss fell Pakistan's way and Nida Dar had no hesitation in opting to bat first. Pakistan were rocked early, losing both openers inside the first four overs. From a decent position of 57/3 at the end of 11 overs, Pakistan lost the plot with the departure of Nida Dar. Sidra Ameen who tried to be proactive right from the start, fell soon after and post that, they could not string partnerships. Contributions from Tuba Hassan and Fatima Sana gave them something to bowl at but 108 was never going to be enough. For India, Pooja Vastrakar set the tone upfront with a couple of wickets before the rest capitalised on the platform laid by her. Deepti Sharma finished with three wickets while Renuka Singh and Shreyanka Patil took two wickets each.

As for Pakistan, they just could not turn up in a high-octane clash. First, with the bat, they struggled to get going in the middle phase, and then with the ball, they were all over the place with their lines and lengths early on. With not a big total to defend, Pakistan were on the hunt for early inroads. They did not ask enough questions of the Indian batters, allowing them to race towards the target. Syeda Aroob Shah, with the wickets of the Indian openers, and Nashra Sandhu, with one to her name, stood out on what was a forgettable night for Pakistan.

A stroll in the park for India! Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. come up trumps against Pakistan emphatically to get their campaign off to a winning start. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana got off the blocks quickly and were helped by some pretty ordinary bowling by Pakistan. Whether it were the spinners or the pacers, both were treated with the same disdain by Shafali and Smriti during the 85-run opening stand. None of the two batters missed a beat until they were dismissed. After Dayalan Hemalatha fell, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues joined hands and knocked off the remaining runs to take India over the line with 5.5 overs to spare.

That will do it. India Women win the first game by 7 wickets and 35 balls to spare! Sadia Iqbal bowls this short and turning away outside off, Jemimah Rodrigues quickly gets on the backfoot and opens the bat face precisely guiding the ball fine of short third for a single.

Dot to end the over! Full and attacking the stumps, Harmanpreet Kaur offers a solid front foot defence.

Fractionally short and turning away outside off, Harmanpreet Kaur gets back deep in the crease and crips her punch to deep cover for a couple of runs to level the scores.

Full and on the pads, Harmanpreet Kaur looks to tuck it fine but misses out again.

Flighted full and on off, Harmanpreet Kaur drives it back to the bowler.

Floated on a fuller length and into the stumps, Jemimah Rodrigues covers the line and nudges it to deep mid-wicket for a single. India Women 3 runs away!

A tad fuller and outside off, Harmanpreet Kaur hangs back and punches it to deep cover for a single.

Darts this one quicker and fuller into the pads, Harmanpreet Kaur looks to tuck it fine but misses on making the connection. The ball clips her front pad and rolls to the on side for a leg bye.

Continues to keep it full and outside off, Harmanpreet Kaur pushes it to covers.