New Delhi: On a pitch offering grip and turn, India’s spinners gave Pakistan nowhere to hide as Harmanpreet and Co won by seven wickets.
Sree Charani led the rout with flight, turn and relentless accuracy as Pakistan were bowled out for 55, their lowest total in women’s T20Is, in their Asia Cup clash in Dubai on Saturday.
Charani (3/7) and Prema Rawat (3/9) did most of the damage as India’s spinners ran through Pakistan’s batting order. Deepti Sharma (2/5) and Shafali Verma (1/10) too joined the party, repeatedly drawing batters into shots away from their body and into the off-side, only for the ball to grip just enough to beat them.
“Just need to bowl to our strength, give more revs on the ball. Just trying to bowl on the stumps,” Charani said after her fine spell. “Trying to get more consistency on my arm ball, and more accuracy on the yorkers.”
Electing to bat, Pakistan began cautiously to reach 27/0, although Muneeba Ali was fortunate to survive a couple of chances. Shafali eventually cleaned her up and the floodgates opened. Charani then struck twice in the final over of the Powerplay and Pakistan went from 27/0 to 35/6 in the blink of an eye as Rawat also ran through the middle order.
There was little respite after that. India’s spinners kept tossing the ball up, inviting Pakistan’s batters to take the bait, while extracting enough turn to make stroke-making treacherous.
Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana’s dismissal only underlined the scale of their predicament, trapped leg before by a sharply turning Deepti delivery. With the lower order exposed, there was little resistance left as India wrapped up the innings in 18.1 overs.
For Charani, it was another statement performance in what has been a remarkable year. She has picked a whopping 32 wickets in 18 innings at an economy rate of 6.71 in 2026. The left-arm spinner has increasingly looked at home on the international stage, and against Pakistan she showed precisely why India have invested in the 22-year-old.
India’s dominance came on a significant day for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who led the side in her 150th T20I – the first cricketer, male or female, to reach the landmark in international cricket.
India had already secured their place in the semi-finals before the game. Pakistan too are expected to progress despite the heavy defeat with Hong Kong their final group-stage opponent.
It was India’s spin quartet that dictated terms on a pitch where patience and deception were rewarded. Although India have a potent spin attack, Charani, Deepti, Shafali and Rawat proved too good for the Pakistan batters.
While chasing, Shafali hit a first-ball six, and it seemed India could even wrap it up within the Powerplay. However, Fatima Sana (3/17) rocked the top-order with three dismissals. She struck twice in the second over of the innings, sending back Shafali and Pratika Rawal, following it up by trapping Smriti Mandhana leg before in her second over.
The rest of the chase, expectedly, proved a formality as India reached the target in 8.4 overs. Harmanpreet (18*) and Deepti (12*) remained unbeaten as India eased to 57/3.
Brief scores: Pakistan 55 all out in 18.1 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 14, Muneeba Ali 13, Sree Charani 3/7, Prema Rawat 3/9). India 57/3 in 8.4 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 18*, Deepti Sharma 12*, Fatima Sana 3/17)