India began their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in style as they thumped arch-rivals Pakistan by 64 runs in a pulsating Group 1 game at a jam-packed Edgbaston Stadium. An all-time record crowd of 18,814, the largest ever for a stand-alone group stage fixture in the history of the tournament, watched an absolute masterclass anchored by the batting elegance of Smriti Mandhana and capped by a record-breaking bowling spell from off-spinner Deepti Sharma.
India chose to bat first on a cloudy day and had the worst possible start. Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal got the first blood by dismissing Shafali Verma (6) in the very first over and T20 World Cup debutant Tasmia Rubab soon followed by packing off Jemimah Rodrigues (1). They were stunned at 18/2 in four overs when India was in dire need of stability.
The country’s two most experienced stalwarts – Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Vice-Captain Smriti Mandhana – joined hands to steady the ship. Mandhana, after a tentative start to the rebuild, opened her wings and tore Pakistan’s bowling to pieces with sublime drives and authoritative lofted hits. The stylish left-hander, after being dropped earlier in the innings in the deep by Pakistan, made her 34th T20I half-century in just 34 balls. The duo compiled a splendid 91-run stand off 63 balls before Mandhana was finally caught in the deep off Rameen Shamim for a fluent 44-ball 68.
Harmanpreet contributed a vital, steadying 36 but it was young wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh who supplied the explosive late impetus. Ghosh turned on the style at the death smashing five boundaries on the trot in a spectacular 17-ball cameo that yielded 34 runs. Her late blitzkrieg helped India to a formidable 170/6.
Riding their luck, Pakistan capitalised on some uncharacteristic Indian fielding lapses while chasing 171. Opener Muneeba Ali’s fighting 35-ball 41 took Pakistan to a roaring 52/1 at the end of the Powerplay – their highest-ever Powerplay score against India in this format.
But then spin came along and spun the script. Meet Deepti Sharma. The veteran off-spinner opened the game up, deceiving Ayesha Zafar with a mistimed sweep, before sparking an immediate middle-order collapse. Deepti then came up with a moment of absolute fielding genius as she turned inside her own follow-through to send down a blistering direct hit to run out the dangerous Muneeba.
India’s spinners strangled the chase with left-arm spinner Shree Charani providing excellent support with figures of 3/21. Pakistan’s last five wickets fell for just 26 runs, completely helpless against the turning ball.
Deepti wrapped up the lower order in the 17th over to claim extraordinary, career best figures of 5/10. Along the way, she also made history, surpassing Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong to become the all-time leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20I history with 166 wickets. Bundled out for 106, Pakistan were left to rue a resounding 64-run loss that catapults India to second in Group 1 with a major Net Run Rate advantage.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
