Smriti Mandhana struck an unbeaten 63 off 42 against Pakistan Smriti Mandhana's attacking 63 not out, following a double-wicket over from Sneh Rana that flipped Pakistan's innings around, propelled India to a thumping eight-wicket win to collect their first points in Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 on Sunday, according to Cricbuzz.
In a game where the toss was delayed due to a light drizzle not once but thrice, Bismah Maroof opted for her side to bat first in a truncated, 18-overs-a-side contest. However, they didn't quite get the start she expected with Meghna Singh inducing a nick off Iram Javed's bat after Mubeena Ali played out a maiden upfront. But Maroof joined the unbeaten opener in the middle and the runs started to flow.
In a sharp contrast to their tournament opener against Barbados, Pakistan batters showed a lot more scoring intent as they amply rotated the strike in the half-century second-wicket stand. Mubeena, though, received plenty of length deliveries that she duly dispatched to the legside fence to keep the boundaries coming off India's two pacers - the slog for a six over midwicket the highlight of her 30-ball 32.
It was in the ninth over when Rana trapped Maroof plumb in front when the Pakistan skipper missed her sweep, and two balls later Mubeena offered a straightforward return catch for the India allrounder. With both set batters dismissed in the space of four deliveries at the halfway mark, Pakistan struggled to find acceleration in the second half.
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