Women's Asia Cup, Pakistan outfox India: Key stats
Pakistan outclassed India to seize a 13-run win in the Women's Asia Cup 2022 on Friday. The Women in Green managed a modest 137 thanks to a sublime fifty from Nida Dar. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma (3/27) was simply superb for the India Women. India Women, however, tumbled under pressure to register their maiden defeat of the tournament. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Opting to bat, Pakistan lost three wickets in the Powerplay overs. Skipper Bismah Maroof then fetched a clinical 76-run stand with Dar, steering Pakistan past 100. The latter stayed put to clock a 37-ball 56*. Besides Deepti, the likes of Pooja Vastrakar (2/23) and Renuka Singh (1/24) fared well. For INDW, wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh (13-ball 26) was the only positive as others crumbled.
Dar, Maroof come to the rescue!
Dar belted five fours and a six thereby racing to a 37-ball 56*. She notched her sixth WT20I fifty. Dar, who bowls off-break, wound up with 2/23, including the prized scalp of an in-form Jemimah Rodrigues (2). She now has 112 WT20I scalps at 18.08, ranking behind Ellyse Perry (115). Meanwhile, Maroof (35-ball 32) smashed just two fours to tally 2,443 runs at 27.44.
Maroof is on the cusp of a historic feat
Maroof is seven short of attaining 2,500 runs in WT20Is. As per ESPNcricinfo, she will be only the eighth batter to breach the milestone. Suzie Bates (3,613), Meg Lanning (3,211), Stafanie Taylor (3,121), Sophie Devine (2,839), Deandra Dottin (2,697), Harmanpreet Kaur (2,647), and Charlotte Edwards (2,605) are the others to own this feat.
Bowlers script these numbers
Deepti's three-fer has steered her to 74 scalps at 21.01, surpassing WI's Shanel Daley (72). Pooja now owns 26 wickets while averaging 22.57. Slow left-arm orthodox Sadia Iqbal (2/24) claimed only her ninth WT20I wicket, while fellow spinner Nashra Sandhu snapped up her 27th scalp.
INDW stay unmoved atop the Women's Asia Cup standings
Six-time winners India are still atop the Women's Asia Cup standings, with three wins in four matches. They enjoy a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +2.480, with Pakistan Women (+1.684) trailing them. INDW bested SLW by 41 runs in their tournament opener, followed by a 30-run triumph over Malaysia. India trumped UAEW by 104 runs before PAKW snapped up their winning streak.
Pakistan better their record against India
As per ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan clinched only their third WT20I win over India. They now enjoy a 3-10 win-loss record. PAKW's maiden win over INDW was by one run in Galle in 2012. They won by two runs in Delhi four years later, and now, a 13-run win in Sylhet. Notably, INDW hadn't lost since November 2016, including the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
