The Indian women's team bounced back to form with a convincing six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their second match of the Women's T20 World Cup. After a disappointing loss to New Zealand in their opening game, the win against Pakistan has provided a much-needed boost to their confidence.
Despite the setback against New Zealand, where they allowed the White Ferns to score 160-4, the Indian bowlers were exceptional in the match against Pakistan, restricting them to 105-8. Arundhati Reddy was the standout performer with three wickets for 19 runs, supported by Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Thakur, Deepti Sharma, and Asha Shobhana who all contributed with crucial wickets.
In the chase, India faced early setbacks with the loss of Smriti Mandhana, but Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues steadied the ship. Despite a few hiccups, captain Harmanpreet Kaur guided the team to victory with a composed innings.
With this win, India finds themselves in a much better position on the road to the semifinals. The team will look to build on this momentum and continue their winning ways in the upcoming matches.
How can India qualify for Women's T20 World Cup semifinal?
In order for India to secure a spot in the semifinals, they must achieve victories over both Sri Lanka and Australia in their upcoming matches. It is imperative that they win by significant margins to improve their run rate, which suffered a setback following a loss to New Zealand. While defeating Australia will pose a challenge for the Women in Blue, the current conditions do provide them with a slight advantage. If India emerges victorious in all matches and New Zealand defeats Australia, both India and New Zealand are likely to advance to the semifinals.
However, if Australia wins all of their matches, including against India, then the team led by Harmanpreet Kaur will need to rely on Sri Lanka and Pakistan to defeat New Zealand in their remaining games. India will have two wins under their belt if they triumph over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while New Zealand will be left with only one win. The team with the superior run rate between India and Pakistan will then secure a spot in the semifinals. Various other qualification scenarios may arise, and a clearer picture will emerge once all teams have completed at least three matches.
Also read| IND vs PAK, Women's T20 World Cup 2024: India beat Pakistan by 6 wickets to earn two crucial points
