India Women bowl Pakistan out for 55 in Dubai
The chase ended in 8.4 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur became the first captain in cricket to lead in 150 T20Is.
India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the Women's Asia Cup T20 in Dubai on Saturday. Pakistan were bowled out for 55 in 18.1 overs, their lowest total in women's T20 Internationals, PTI reported.
India chased 56 in 8.4 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur finished unbeaten on 18. Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma also scored in the chase.
Spinners did the damage. Shree Charani took 3 for 7. Prema Rawat also took three. Deepti Sharma took two. Shafali Verma took one. All but one wicket fell to spin, with one run-out.
Harmanpreet was playing her 150th match as T20I captain, the first player in cricket, men or women, to reach that mark. She said the side had already sealed a semi-final berth before this group game and still wanted to stay ruthless.
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana took three wickets with the ball but said the batting collapse decided the night. She had chosen to bat first after winning the toss.
A 55 all out against India is not a one-off rivalry headline. It is a bowling plan that read the pitch and a batting side that did not.
India are into the semis with standards intact. Harmanpreet's 150th game as captain is a career marker in a format she has owned for India. The gulf on the day was large enough that the chase barely asked a question.
For Indian readers, this is the Asia Cup story that follows Friday's preview in this paper. The result landed overnight.
Group games run toward 8 September. Semi-finals are listed for 10 and 11 September, with the final on 13 September. Pakistan play their last group match looking to reset after the collapse.