ICC Women's T20 World Cup: India defeat Pakistan by 64 runs

Birmingham (Web Desk): Pakistan women’s cricket team got their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign off to a disappointing start as they suffered a 64-run defeat against India women in their Group 1 clash at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Sunday.

Chasing 171 for victory, Pakistan were dismissed for 106 in 17 overs despite some early resistance. 
The match also marked a historic moment as Fatima Sana became the first Pakistan fast bowler to reach 50 wickets in Women’s T20 Internationals.

Pakistan’s innings showed early promise when Muneeba Ali Siddiqui and Gull Feroza put together 38 runs for the opening wicket. Muneeba played a fighting knock of 41 off 35 balls, hitting five boundaries, while Gull contributed 12 from nine deliveries.

Once the opening stand was broken, Pakistan’s batting line-up struggled to maintain momentum as wickets fell steadily. Ayesha Zafar made 12 and Saira Jabeen scored 2, leaving the team at 58 for 3. Muneeba was later run out in the 11th over when the total had reached 75 for 4. Aliya Riaz added 18 off 17 balls with a boundary, but Pakistan’s innings continued to lose shape. India’s Deepti Sharma was exceptional with the ball, claiming 5 for 10 in her four overs, while Shree Charani supported with 3 for 21.

Earlier, after choosing to field first, Pakistan made an encouraging breakthrough by reducing India to 18 for 2 inside 3.2 overs. Sadia Iqbal removed Shafali Verma for 6 in the opening over, and debutant Tasmia Rubab dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues for just 1 early in the fourth over.

However, Smriti Mandhana anchored India’s innings with a composed 68 off 44 balls, striking nine fours and two sixes, and built a crucial 91-run partnership for the third wicket with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who contributed 36.

In the closing stages, Richa Ghosh added quick runs with 34 off 17 balls to push India to 170 for 6 before being bowled by Fatima Sana, who also made history by completing 50 WT20I wickets. For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana finished with two wickets each, conceding 41 and 33 runs respectively.

Pakistan, led by Fatima Sana, will now turn their attention to their next fixture against South Africa at the same venue on Wednesday, which will be played under lights with the first ball scheduled for 6:30pm local time.