Deepti, Mandhana script India's emphatic win over Pakistan

Smriti Mandhana's fifth T20 World Cup half-century, a finishing act from Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma's record-breaking fifer helped India kick off their 2026 campaign with a commanding 64-run victory over Pakistan at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Mandhana, alongside Harmanpreet Kaur, revived India's innings after a wobbly start before Ghosh's late blitz - 34 in just 17 deliveries - propelled the team to strong finish on 170. Pakistan began brightly, but lost steam in the middle overs with Deepti claiming five to end a lean patch with the ball.

Opting to bat first on a friendly pitch, India's innings began in disastrous fashion. Shafali Verma looked to set an aggressive tone immediately, smashing a massive six off the very first ball of the match to get the game underway. However, her fireworks were short-lived, as she fell in that same opening over, leaving India stunned early on. The trouble deepened when Jemimah Rodrigues failed to find any rhythm. She managed just one run off seven deliveries and became Pakistan's World Cup debutant Tasmia Rubab's maiden T20I wicket. With India reeling, vice-captain Mandhana at times struggled for fluency at times but found her rythym soon enough to turn things around for India.

Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur steadied the ship beautifully, putting together a vital 91-run partnership for the third wicket. During this rescue act, the India captain played the anchor role, allowing her deputy to take the onus of acceleration. Mandhana capitalised on her rhythm, reaching a brilliant fifty off just 34 deliveries - a knock during which she earned two crucial reprieves and made Pakistan pay dearly for their lapses.

Mandhana immediately shifted gears into overdrive. She struck a boundary off Rameen Shamim and followed it up with a towering six to welcome spinner Sadia Iqbal back into the attack. Harmanpreet, right on cue, joined the onslaught by hitting the world's No. 1 T20I bowler for back-to-back boundaries. This allowed India to catch up, plundering 19 runs from the expensive 13th over and pushing past the 100-run mark.

Pakistan finally found a breakthrough when Rameen hit back with the massive wicket of Mandhana off the final ball of her spell. Bharati Fulmali, on World Cup debut, was in and out in a jiffy, and following a quiet over from Nashra Sandhu, Harmanpreet's anchoring act came to an end without the payoff at the backend. She was dismissed for a 35-ball 36 by her counterpart, Fatima Sana.

Enter Richa Ghosh. Batting initially on 10 off 9 balls, India's experienced finisher officially came to the party in the penultimate over, feeding mercilessly on the inexperience of Rubab who erred in her lines and lengths under pressure, Ghosh took full toll, smashing a breathtaking sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4. That explosive 23-run 19th over single-handedly propelled India past the 150-mark. Before she was finally bowled on the penultimate ball of the innings for a sensational 34 at a strike-rate of 200, Ghosh successfully set up India's match-winning total of 170.

Muneeba Ali got Pakistan's chase off to a solid start, smashing a flurry of boundaries after being dropped early. To plug the flow of runs, India tossed the ball to Deepti. The move paid immediate dividends; after building dot-ball pressure, Deepti broke the opening stand by dismissing Gull Feroza, who reverse-swept straight to backward point. Incoming batter Ayesha Zafar quickly made her intentions clear by striking back-to-back boundaries off Arundhati Reddy, guiding Pakistan to a healthy 52/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

However, the momentum completely shifted as Pakistan lost the plot in the middle overs. Deepti struck again in her second over when Zafar found a diving Mandhana to fall for 12. Left-arm spinner Sree Charani then joined the party, removing Saira Jabeen cheaply in her first over. Though Muneeba broke a boundary drought to fight the mounting required rate, her sudden run-out opened the floodgates. Shafali Verma struck immediately by removing the dangerous Fatima Sana, who was caught at cover to leave Pakistan reeling at 77/4, the chase looking increasingly improbable.

The collapse worsened as Sidra Amin fell quickly to become Charani's second victim, followed soon by Rameen Shamim to cap a brilliant spell of 3/21 from the young spinner. With Pakistan crossing the 100-run mark, Deepti returned to clean up the tail. She completed a sensational five-wicket haul (5/10), a historic feat that officially crowned her as the most successful bowler in women's T20I history.

Brief scores: India 170/6 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 68, Harmanpreet Kaur 36, Richa Ghosh 34; Fatima Sana 2-33) beat Paksitan 106 all out in 17 overs (Muneeba Ali 41; Deepti Sharma 5-10, Sree Charani 3-21) by 64 runs.