Jemimah Rodrigues on Sunday scored an unbeaten half-century to guide India to an impressive victory against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
Batting first, Pakistan made 149-4 in 20 overs with skipper Bismah Maroof scoring an unbeaten 68 from 55 balls. Ayesha Naseem remained not out at 43 from 25 balls.
India achieved the target in 19 overs by losing just three wickets. Rodrigues remained not out at 53 from 38 balls, while Richa Ghosh played an unbeaten knock of 31 from 20 balls. Shefali Verma made 33 from 25 balls.
Rodrigues said after the match that she wanted to dedicate her half-century knock to her parents, who were watching the match in the ground.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said, “It was a good game. Pakistan batted well and Jemi and Richa played really well. Very sensible batting from both of them. All the players are keen to do well for the team, and whoever gets the opportunity they are pushing themselves. It’s a good sign for us and a win against Pakistan is always special. The crowd was also fantastic and got good support. We would love to spend some time in the nets and sort out the things we didn’t do well today before the West Indies game. It’s important to keep doing the right things in the nets too.”
Pakistani captain Bismah Maroof said, “We were in the game all the time, but they played really well. We made mistakes with the ball and will try to be better in the next game. The batters played their roles well. Ayesha was crucial for us with that knock.”
