**India Secures Seven-Wicket Victory Over Pakistan in Women’s T20 Asia Cup**
**SILIGURI, India** – The Indian women’s cricket team secured a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on September 6. The win concluded India’s group-stage campaign with a perfect record, following previous victories against Thailand and Hong Kong.
Manabendra Ghosh, father of Indian wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, praised the team’s performance. “It was a remarkable performance,” he told ANI. “Whenever there is a match against Pakistan, we get very excited; the sentiment is that we simply have to beat them. We know our team is excellent and will definitely win.”
Richa Ghosh, a native of Siliguri, contributed to the win behind the stumps, recording two dismissals. She stumped Tuba Hassan off the bowling of Deepti Sharma and took a catch to dismiss Nashra Sandhu off the bowling of Prema Rawat.
India’s bowling attack restricted Pakistan to 55 runs all out in 18.1 overs. Shree Charani and Prema Rawat led the effort, each taking three wickets for seven and nine runs, respectively. Deepti Sharma added two wickets, while Shafali Verma claimed one. Pakistan’s batting lineup struggled to build momentum, with Muneeba Ali (13) and Shawaal Zulfiqar (14) serving as the top scorers.
During India’s chase, Shafali Verma reached a career milestone, becoming the youngest player to accumulate 3,000 runs in Women’s T20 Internationals at 22 years and 220 days. Despite losing three wickets—Verma (12), Pratika Rawal (4), and Smriti Mandhana (9)—to Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, India reached the target of 56 in 8.4 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur (18 not out) and Deepti Sharma (12 not out) guided the team to victory.
With this result, India finishes the group stage with six points, maintaining their position as the defending champions in the tournament.
Article and image source: hongkongherald.com
