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Smriti Mandhana joined Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur as India’s joint-highest half-century scorer in Women’s T20 World Cup history with her fifth fifty in the tournament, helping India post 170 for 6 against Pakistan in their opening match at Edgbaston on Sunday.Mandhana scored 68 off 44 balls and shared a 91-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (36 off 35 balls) after India were reduced to 18 for 2 early in the innings. Richa Ghosh then added 34 off 17 balls to give India a strong finish.With her innings, Mandhana moved level with Mithali and Harmanpreet on five scores of 50 or more in Women’s T20 World Cups.Most 50-plus scores for India in Women’s T20 World Cups
- 5 – Mithali Raj (23 innings)
- 5 – Harmanpreet Kaur (34 innings)
- 5 – Smriti Mandhana (26 innings)
- 3 – Punam Raut (15 innings)
India had a poor start after losing Shafali Verma for 6 and Jemimah Rodrigues for 1, slipping to 18 for 2. Mandhana and Harmanpreet then rebuilt the innings carefully before increasing the scoring rate.India were 30 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay, but the pair added runs quickly over the next seven overs. Mandhana reached her half-century in 34 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes during her knock.She survived two chances during her innings. First, a catch was dropped at mid-off off Tasmia Rubab’s bowling. Later, a chance at the wide long-on boundary went through the fielder’s hands for six off Sadia Iqbal.Mandhana’s innings ended when she miscued a shot off Rameen Shamim and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana completed the catch.After her dismissal, India lost momentum briefly. Bharti Fulmali was stumped for a duck, while Harmanpreet fell for 36 when Natalia Pervaiz took a catch at the square-leg boundary off Fatima Sana.Richa Ghosh then provided the late push. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 34 from 17 balls, with India collecting 23 runs from the penultimate over bowled by Rubab.For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal returned figures of 2 for 41, while captain Fatima Sana picked up 2 for 33.India eventually finished on 170 for 6, with Mandhana’s record-equalling half-century laying the foundation for the total.India won the match by 64 runs as Pakistan were bowled out for 106 in 17 overs.
