India Women kick-started their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a thumping victory over Pakistan Women as they were able to register a commanding win of 64 runs at Edgbaston. The highly-anticipated contest drew a ground record audience and produced an enthralling battle with India demonstrating complete dominance in both batting and bowling.
India started poorly after opting to bat first, managing just 18 runs for the loss of two wickets. But this was when Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur had a stabilising partnership. Mandhana put on a cleverly paced innings, Cricket mixing elegance with aggressive stroke play as she completed her half-century. Harmanpreet’s presence at the other end lent valuable solidity to India as they recovered from a disastrous start and continued while firmly in control of the innings.
Mandhana eventually made 68, and Harmanpreet added 36. That partnership set them up for a big total. A late flourish came when Richa Ghosh blasted a quick fire knock. India finished their innings with a very competitive total of 170 for 6 from the allotted overs, helped by her unbroken score of 34 runs off only17 deliveries which came in handy to get India going during death.
Pakistan did get off to a strong start in their innings and posted the highest-ever powerplay score against India (40 runs) in Women’s T20 World Cup history. Muneeba Ali, who seemed effortless at the crease, struck some solid shots. With 41 runs, she kept Pakistan in the chase of a difficult target. But gradually, India’s bowling started to tighten the screws.
The Indian spinners came to the party and it was a big turning point. In one of her best T20 International spells, Deepti Sharma proved too good for the Pakistan batting order with a nagging mix of line and length. Kerr ballooned up her figures to 5 for 10, which is now her best in this format. Deepti’s bowling turned the match for India and Pakistan were always lagging well behind the required rate.
The Indian bowling unit was constantly probing, with Shree Charani managing to chip in with three wickets. Pakistan consistently fell short and were unable to bounce back after the middle-order collapse. However, they folded at 106 to hand India a comprehensive victory by 64 runs.
The victory earned India another two points and also greatly improved their net run rate. Powered by a terrific Smriti Mandhana ton and an all-round effort from Deepti Sharma, India achieved its first World Cup victory with resounding effect.
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