India's opening match at the ICC Women's World Cup in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, on Sunday looked headed for infamy until a stellar lower order fightback.
Playing arch-rivals Pakistan, India lost five wickets for just 18 runs to reach 114 for 6 in the 34th over. However, Pooja Vastrakar (67 off 59 balls) and Sneh Rana (53 not out off 48 balls) stitched together a crucial 122-run partnership at better than a run a ball to set India up for a fighting total. India finished on 244 for 7 in their 50 hours with Rana and Jhulan Goswami (6 not out) at the crease.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat. Opener Shafali Varma fell for a duck, being bowled by Diana Baig. Smriti Mandhana continued her rich vein of form, scoring 52 and adding 92 runs with Deepti Sharma (40). However, Mandhana and Sharma fell in the space of 2 runs, triggering a collapse that saw veterans Mithali Raj (9) and Harmanpreet Kaur (5) and Richa Ghosh (1) fall in quick succession.
India will be hoping for an improved performance from their bowlers, who struggled in the preceding series against New Zealand.
For Pakistan, Nida Dar (2 for 45 off 10 overs) and Nashra Sandhu (2 for 36 off 10) were the most successful bowlers.
Runners-up in the 2017 and 2005 editions, India are eager to go one step ahead and claim the title that has eluded them, especially skipper Mithali Raj and veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami, who are playing their last World Cup.
