India post fighting total vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup clash

India post fighting total vs Pakistan as Mandhana fires half-century in T20 World Cup clash at Edgbaston. File photo

| Published June, 14 2026 | Updated

(Web Desk): India post fighting total vs Pakistan as Mandhana fires half-century in T20 World Cup clash at Edgbaston.

India Women set a strong target in a high-pressure match. India Women posted 170-6 in 20 overs after batting first at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The team reached a 171-run target for Pakistan with key contributions from top and middle order.

Shafali Verma started aggressively with a six on the first ball but was dismissed in the same over. Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal struck early to give her team a quick breakthrough.

Jemimah Rodrigues tried to stabilize the innings but fell cheaply for just one run. India were struggling at 18-2, putting early pressure on the batting side.

Smriti Mandhana then took charge and built a strong partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur. The duo pushed India past 50 runs and shifted momentum strongly.

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Mandhana played a brilliant knock of 68 off 44 balls with nine fours and two sixes. She completed her 34th T20I half-century before getting out to Rameen Shamim.

Kaur added 36 runs and helped India cross the 100-run mark with steady hitting. However, Pakistan bowlers kept striking at regular intervals to stay in the contest.

Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma added crucial late runs to push the score beyond 150. Ghosh played a quick 34 off 17 balls before being dismissed in the final over.

For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana took two wickets each in a disciplined bowling effort. Tasmia Rubab and Rameen Shamim also chipped in with important breakthroughs.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (c), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, Tasmia Rubab.

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Shreyanka Patil.

India showed strong batting depth after early wickets but still had shaky moments. Pakistan kept fighting with regular breakthroughs but could not fully control Mandhana’s impact. The match stayed competitive, but India’s partnerships made the real difference.