Smriti Mandhana joined Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur as India’s highest half-century scorer in Women’s T20 World Cup history with her 55th of the tournament, helping India post 170 for 6 against Pakistan in their opening match at Edgbaston on Sunday.Mandhana scored 68 off 44 balls and shared a 91-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (36 off 35 balls) after India were reduced to 18 for 2 early in the innings. Richa Ghosh then added 34 off 17 balls to give India a powerful finish.With her innings, Mandhana has moved level with Mithali and Harmanpreet with five scores of 50 or more in the Women’s T20 World Cup.50+ scores for India in Women’s T20 World Cup
- 5 – Mithali Raj (23 rounds)
- 5 – Harmanpreet Kaur (34 rounds)
- 5 – Smriti Mandhana (26 rounds)
- 3 – Poonam Raut (15 innings)
India had a poor start after losing Shafali Verma for 6 and Jemima Rodriguez for 1, and fell to 18 for 2.
Mandhana and Harmanpreet then carefully reconstructed the innings before increasing the scoring rate.India were 30 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay, but the duo quickly added runs over the next seven overs. Mandhana reached her half-century in 34 balls and hit nine fours and two sixes during her knock.She had two chances during her innings. Firstly, the catch was dropped in the middle of Tasmeem Rabab’s bowling. Later, a chance on a long-on boundary passed through the fielder’s hands for a six by Sadia Iqbal.
Mandhana’s innings ended when she miscued Ramin Shamim’s shot and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana completed the catch.After her dismissal, India briefly lost momentum. Bharti Phulmali was stumped for a duck, while Harmanpreet fell for 36 when Natalia Pervez caught it at the square-leg boundary off Fatima Sana.Richa Ghosh then submitted the late payment. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 34 off 17 balls as India amassed 23 runs off the penultimate over on Rabab’s bowler.For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal returned 2 for 41, while captain Fatima Sana took 2 for 33.India eventually finished on 170 for 6, with Mandhana’s record-breaking half-century laying the foundation for the total.India won the match by 64 runs as Pakistan were bowled out for 106 in 17 overs.