3 best knocks in India-Pakistan women's T20Is ft. Jemimah Rodrigues
India Women will take on Pakistan Women in the second match of the 2024 Women's Asia Cup T20 tournament at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla on Friday, July 19. The Group A match will begin at 7:00 PM IST. India Women are the defending champions in the tournament and also the most successful team in the competition, winning seven out of eight editions.
If we take a look at the head-to-head battle between India Women and Pakistan Women in T20Is, the Asian rivals have clashed 14 times in the format, with India winning 11 matches and Pakistan only three. The first T20I meeting between the two sides took place in 2009 in Taunton during the T20 World Cup. The Women in Blue won the match by five wickets.
The most recent clash between the two sides in the T20I format took place in Cape Town in February 2023 as part of the T20 World Cup. India Women again emerged victorious by seven wickets.
There have been some memorable batting performances in T20I matches between India Women and Pakistan Women over the years. Ahead of the upcoming contest on Friday in Dambulla, we revisit three of the best knocks in India vs Pakistan women's T20Is.
#3 Nida Dar (56* off 37) - 2022 Women's Asia Cup
Nida Dar scored an unbeaten 56 off 37 balls in match number 13 of the 2022 Women's Asia Cup at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. She also starred with the ball, claiming 2-23 as Pakistan Women won the match by 13 runs.
Batting first after winning the toss, Pakistan Women put up 137-6 on the board. They lost three wickets for 33 runs in the first six overs. However, Dar and Bismah Maroof (32 off 35) added 76 runs for the fourth wicket.
Dar struck five fours and a six in her unbeaten knock, which came at a strike rate of 151.35. She took on Dayalan Hemalatha in the 12th over and smashed her for a four between deep midwicket and deep square leg. In the same over, she whacked a maximum by going down the track.
With the ball, Dar dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur as Pakistan Women held India Women to 124. Rodrigues (2) top-edged a tossed-up delivery towards point, while Harmanpreet miscued a big hit towards long-off.
#2 Mithali Raj 73* (65) - 2016 Women's Asia Cup Final
Mithali Raj played an excellent knock of 73* off 65 balls in Bangkok in the final of the 2016 Women's Asia Cup T20 tournament. India Women won the toss and elected to bat first in the summit clash against Pakistan Women at the Asian Institute of Technology Ground in Bangkok. They put up 121-5 on the board in their 20 overs and then held the opposition to 104-6.
Opening the innings, Mithali struck seven fours and a six in her unbeaten knock, holding things together even as wickets kept falling at the other end. After getting off to a conservative start, she struck Asmavia Iqbal for consecutive fours off the first two balls of the eighth over. A full toss was swiped wide of midwicket, while a length ball was driven through the off side.
In the 10th over, she took on Dar and swiped a full toss (no ball) wide of backward square leg for four. The next delivery was lofted over the sight screen for a maximum. The bowlers backed up Mithali's effort as Ekta Bisht claimed 2-22, while four bowlers picked up one wicket each. India Women won the game by 17 runs.
#1 Jemimah Rodrigues (53* off 38) - 2023 Women's T20 World Cup
Rodrigues scored an unbeaten 53 off 38 balls as India Women beat Pakistan Women by seven wickets in Cape Town in match number four of the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup. Chasing a target of 150, India got home in 19 overs as Rodrigues guided the team home with a mature knock.
Shafali Verma (33 off 25), Harmanpreet Kaur (16 off 12) and Yastika Bhatia (17 off 20) fell after getting starts, but Rodrigues ensured that India Women got the better of Pakistan Women, adding an unbroken 58 for the fourth wicket with Richa Ghosh (31* off 20). Rodrigues struck eight fours in her match-winning knock.
The right-handed batter kept finding the boundaries at crucial intervals to ensure that the required run rate never got out of control. With 14 needed off 12 balls, she ended the game by smashing Pakistan Women pacer Fatima Sana for three fours. The first four was hammered through square leg, the second was slapped over short third man, while the winning runs came via an inside-out drive.