(Cricket news) India got off to a good start to the Women's World Cup with a 107 run victory over Pakistan. Mithali Raj elected to bat first after winning the toss and India as expected went with 5 pure batters, 3 all-rounders and 3 seamers. After losing Shefali Verma early, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma steadied things for a while as the former completed her half century.
India then lost 5 wickets in quick succession as the score was 114 for six. The two all-rounders, Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana rescued their team by stitching a 122 run partnership as both scored half centuries. The pair batted exquisitely under immense pressure to lead their side to a respectable total of 244 runs. In response Pakistan didn't show any intent whatsoever as they were cleaned up within 43 overs for 137 runs. Vastrakar did not take the field due to a minor injury. Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets. Jhulan Goswami and Sneh Rana got two wickets each while Deepti Sharma and Meghna Singh chipped in with 1 scalp each.
The huge 107 run win puts India at the top of the table but it was far from a complete performance by the women in blue and there are still areas of concern for the side. Harmanpreet Kaur's dismissal was identical to so many of her other dismissals. Smriti Mandhana once again couldn't convert her start to a big innings while Shafali Verma didn't get going at all again. Mithali Raj is in a good run of form but she too hasn't played a big innings in a while.
The bowling was good but it was mainly because Pakistan was abysmal and didn't show any intent. The bowlers weren't challenged enough to be judged on this performance. India will be in deep trouble if Pooja Vastrakar's injury is going to keep her out for even a game because then India will have to replace her with a pure seamer who is Renuka Singh Thakur. India will then be tempted to drop Rana in favour of Yastika Bhatia who is a pure batter which again means one less bowling option. There are a few things that need to be sorted before the next match. A change in the batting order could be seen against New Zealand
Also read: New Zealand canter to nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh
