India Women Finish Strongly at 170/6 Against Pakistan Women

Overs0.3 Score6 - 0 Arundhati Reddy to Gull Feroza, Fuller in length, tailing down leg. Gull Feroza flicks but seems to have got an inside edge back to the keeper. Richa does not grab it cleanly and parries it to the leg side off her gloves for a single.

4 Overs0.1 Score4 - 0 Arundhati Reddy to Muneeba Ali, FOUR! Up and over and Pakistan are underway! Width on offer by Reddy, on a length, outside off. Ali slashes hard at it and gets a bit of an outside edge, but the ball flies over and wide of short third for a boundary.

Welcome back for Pakistan's reply. Harmanpreet Kaur leads her troops out onto the park. It will be the left-hand, right-hand combination of Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza to open the innings for Pakistan. Arundhati Reddy will start with the new ball for India. Richa Ghosh is standing up to the stumps. Muneeba is on strike. Let's go...

Looking ahead - A challenging chase awaits Pakistan, and a lot will depend on how they begin. The surface has played on the slower side, on which India, with their varied bowling attack, will be confident enough of getting the job done. Either way, it promises to be an entertaining second half of the game, so stick around.

A quick word with Pakistan's head coach - Wahab Riaz says that they should have restricted India under 160 with the way we started, and might have given 10-15 runs extra at the end. Adds that a few dropped catches were where they lost the momentum, and the message was clear to just stick to the plans. Mentions that he is feeling confident of the team's chances in this chase, and they just need to play one ball at a time. Believes they can chase this with a couple of overs left.

Pakistan's strong start was undone late - After losing the toss, Pakistan were disciplined with the ball early on and were rewarded with a couple of wickets in the Powerplay. Put on the back foot, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur absorbed the pressure before gradually settling into their innings. Mandhana was the more dominant of the two during their 91-run partnership and was handed reprieves along the way as Pakistan dropped her two catches. Having removed both set batters heading into the death overs, Pakistan had a genuine opportunity to limit the damage. However, Richa Ghosh came through for India with an aggressive cameo as Pakistan were made to pay for the slow over rate in the last two overs.

India get the desired finish - 38 runs off the last 2 overs have powered India to 170, and they will take it, given the kind of start they had to their innings. Pakistan started well but could not close out the innings they would have liked, and a stiff task awaits them with the bat.

IS THAT OUT? Fatima Sana has opted for a review on the final ball of this innings as she feels that she has managed to trap Shreyanka Patil in front while trying the reverse hit. The replay shows that the ball has bumped into the gloves of Shreyanka Patil, and it will be a single to Patil.

1 Overs19.6 Score170 - 6 Fatima Sana to Shreyanka Patil, The on-field decision is upheld! So 15 runs from the final over and India Women finish strongly at 170/6. A good length delivery on the leg stump line. Shreyanka premeditates and goes for a reverse scoop but misses, taking it on the front pad perhaps. The ball drops and rolls just beside the pitch, but the batters are alert to the situation to sneak in a run. Fatima goes up for the LBW appeal, but the umpire is unmoved, and Sana is quick to opt for a review, challenging the on-field decision. The UltraEdge shows the ball has hit Shreyanka on the gloves as there is a clear spike on it.

W Overs19.5 Score168 - 6 Fatima Sana to Richa Ghosh, OUT! KNOCKED HER OVER! You miss, I hit, says Sana and she shows some aggression, picking up her second wicket. But the damage has been done by Richa. On a length on the stumps at 107.7 kph, and it seams away a touch after pitching. Richa looks to smoke it down the ground but misses on the outside edge, and the ball crashes into the off stump.

5wd Overs19.4 Score165 - 5 Fatima Sana to Richa Ghosh, FIVE WIDES! Dear me, that's gone all wrong for Fatima. Bonus runs for India. Miles down the leg stump line, on a fuller length. Richa Ghosh plays and misses, and the ball beats the keeper, Muneeba Ali as well, before running to the fence behind.

0 Overs19.3 Score160 - 5 Fatima Sana to Richa Ghosh, Lethal comeback from Sana! A hostile bumper, dug short on middle and leg. Richa Ghosh tries to pull but takes her eyes off the ball and misses to connect. Muneeba Ali, standing up to the stumps, does well to get a glove on it. It rolls in front of her.

4 Overs19.2 Score160 - 5 Fatima Sana to Richa Ghosh, FOUR! More runs and Ghosh is putting on a real masterclass in finishing. A full toss, on the stumps, drifting in. Richa Ghosh sits down on a knee and sweeps it to deep backward square leg, finding the gap for a boundary.

This is exactly the kind of over India wanted, and Pakistan needed to avoid. India will be feeling the injection of momentum with them. How many can they add in the final over? Fatima Sana will be bowling it.

4 Overs18.6 Score155 - 5 Tasmia Rubab to Richa Ghosh, FOUR! Into the gap! Back of a length, angling into the batter, Richa Ghosh picks the length in a trice and pulls it, perfectly bisecting the long on and deep mid-wicket fielders for a boundary An enormous over for the Indians as 23 runs come from it.

4 Overs18.5 Score151 - 5 Tasmia Rubab to Richa Ghosh, FOUR! That penalty is really hurting Pakistan now. Pushed fuller, wide on off. Richa sees the width and throws her hands at it, gets a thick outside edge and the ball shoots through the third man region for a boundary. 150 comes up for India!

6 Overs18.4 Score147 - 5 Tasmia Rubab to Richa Ghosh, SIX! Just sails over! A juicy half-volley, on the stumps. Ghosh clears the front leg and smokes it aerially towards long on. Just for a bit, Fatima Sana thinks she is in the game to catch it. So she leaps to pluck the ball, but it sails over her head and falls beyond the ropes.

4 Overs18.3 Score141 - 5 Tasmia Rubab to Richa Ghosh, FOUR! Powerfully struck! On a back of a length, angling in and around off. Ghosh exposes the stumps to create space for herself and muscles it between that narrow cover and mid off gap for a cracking boundary.

4 Overs18.1 Score136 - 5 Tasmia Rubab to Deepti Sharma, FOUR! A boundary after quite a while for the Indians! Short and on middle and leg. Deepti Sharma uses the angle and pulls it over short fine leg for a boundary. Much-needed for the Women in Blue.

Just 3 runs from the 18th over and no boundaries in the last 3 overs for India Women. Pakistan Women are doing really well to keep India Women in touching distance. Pakistan Women have been handed a slow over rate penalty, and they'll be left with just 3 fielders outside the inner circle for the last 2 overs. Tasmia Rubab replaces Fatima Sana in the attack.

2 Overs17.1 Score131 - 5 Nashra Sundhu to Deepti Sharma, Had to really hurry there! Fuller in front of the stumps, spinning from middle to leg. Deepti Sharma clips it to deep mid-wicket and the call is for two straightaway. The sub fielder, Diana Baig speeds across to her right from deep square leg and throws it to the batting end, seeing Sharma struggling to complete the run. Deepti puts in a full-stretched dive to get home before Muneeba whips the bails off.

W Overs16.2 Score123 - 5 Fatima Sana to Harmanpreet Kaur, OUT! TAKEN IN THE DEEP! Fatima dismisses her opposite number and Pakistan are all charged up as Kaur falls. She bowls it full and angles it onto the pads. Harmanpreet Kaur walks inside the line to flick it over deep square leg, but gets her timing all wrong. Airs it straight to Natalia Pervaiz, stationed at the mentioned position, who takes a fine catch to her right. India Women are 123/5, 22 balls left.

1 Overs16.1 Score123 - 4 Fatima Sana to Richa Ghosh, Very full on middle, Richa Ghosh stays leg side and lifts it over the off side. But she gets it off the toe end and barely clears mid off for a single.

2 Overs15.6 Score122 - 4 Nashra Sundhu to Harmanpreet Kaur, Fine effort! Flat and full, around the off stump. Kaur gets her hands through the ball and sweeps it wide of deep mid-wicket. The fielder in the deep covers good ground to her right and dives to save a couple of runs for her side.