MATCH RECAP
Follow UsIndia’s aggressive start
The Indian openers Shafali Verma (37 off 18) and Smriti Mandhana (13 off 9) were extremely quick off the blocks on a pitch that was great for batting. They wasted no time in run scoring and, as a result, India had 56 runs at the end of first powerplay despite losing three wickets.
Hemalatha continues to disappoint
This was the seventh time Dayalan Hemalatha batted at number three for India in a T20I since her return to the side after the 2024 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). However, she continued to disappoint, scoring only 3 runs, her fifth score below 30 in the seven games.
Harmanpreet and Richa’s blistering partnership
India’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (66 off 47) and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (64 off just 29) combined to score 75 runs in just 45 deliveries and took India to their highest-ever total in T20I cricket (201/5).
Tanuja and Deepti’s spin brilliance
Tanuja Kanwer was making her debut for India in the format, but she bowled a brilliant spell of 1/14 in her full quota and ensured that no UAE batter got a free reign against her. She was more than ably supported by allrounder Deepti Sharma (2/23) and the UAE batters never got enough chances to make a real attempt at chasing India’s total.
Esha Oza and Kavisha Egodage’s fight
Skipper Oza (38 off 36) and Kavisha Egodage (40 off 32) were the only UAE batters who showed some fight against the Indian bowlers on a good track to bat on, but due to lack of support from the other batters — only Khushi Sharma could score in double digits — they fell 78 runs short of India’s massive target.
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