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The Women’s Asia Cup 2026 has been going on, and on Saturday, the high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan took place. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur opened up about the performance of his side in the match against the Women in Green. India Women’s National Cricket Team defeated Pakistan Women’s National Cricket Team by 7 wickets with 68 balls to spare as they topped Group A of the competition.
Speaking after the win, Harmanpreet Kaur credited Shree Charani, Prema Rawat, and India’s spin department and was happy with the team's overall performance. She also spoke about how the game turned one-sided, with the spinners dominating and bowling the Pakistan side out for 55 runs in the game, and registering a win in her 150th T20I match as captain.
Pakistan batting crumbles against India spinners
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bat first. They played the same team from their win over Thailand Women’s National Cricket Team by 35 runs. She stated during the toss that they would try to capitalize on the conditions. Coming out to bat, they had a decent start as their openers, Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar, were steady at the start.
They were 26/0, and from there the collapse started as one batter after another came and went back to the dressing room, as the batters had no answer to the Indian bowlers. Shafali Verma provided the breakthrough as Muneeba Ali was bowled by the opener, who had been dropped by Pratika Rawal earlier for 6 runs; she was out for 13.
After that, Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma webbed the Pakistan batters as they kept on picking wickets, with leg-spinner Prema Rawat joining the party. Shree Charani and Prema Rawat picked three wickets each, and Deepti finished off with two wickets as Fatima Sana’s side was bowled out for 55 runs and registered their lowest T20I total. Shawaal Zulfiqar was the top scorer with 14 runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur finishes the game
Coming out to chase, Shafali Verma had a good start, scoring quickly; she achieved the milestone of 3,000 runs in T20I cricket and became the fastest Indian woman to reach the milestone. However, she was dismissed for 12 runs off 6 deliveries. Pratika Rawal yet again disappointed as she was back for four runs.
Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur then tried to stitch a partnership, but the India vice-captain was dismissed for 9 runs, as skipper Fatima Sana kept the Women in Green in the game as she picked up all three wickets in the match. After that, Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 18 runs, and Deepti Sharma scored 12* runs as they finished the game comfortably.
"Really happy how the entire team performed": Harmanpreet Kaur on India's performance
Harmanpreet Kaur, after the match, said that this is a positive result for the team and she is glad about the team’s performance. She also praised the bowling department for how they are sticking to their plans, and she is grateful to lead the side in 150 T20I matches and thanked everyone.
Kaur said in the post-match presentation (as quoted by Cricbuzz), "Very important game for us. Really happy how the entire team performed today. All the bowlers have been outstanding, they are sticking to the plans and reading the pitch well. It is part of the game, they bowled a few good balls, important thing was to keep batting and finish the game as soon as possible."
"We know what this team brings when we take the field, another two games and we play some good cricket. I am grateful, I never thought I will come this far, but I am grateful for the people who have been supporting me."
