India opened their Cricket World Cup campaign with a 64-run win over Pakistan in Birmingham, turning a tense Group 1 meeting into a one-sided finish at Edgbaston. Smriti Mandhana made 68 off 44 balls and Deepti Sharma took five wickets for 10 runs as Pakistan were bowled out for 106 after chasing 171.
The result mattered immediately because it came in one of the tournament’s most watched fixtures, with 18,814 in the ground and the rivalry already carrying more weight than the points table. Harmanpreet Kaur had said on Saturday that India were there only for cricket, and her side backed that up with a performance that kept Pakistan under pressure from the first overs to the last wicket.
India’s 170-6 was built on a 91-run stand inside 11 overs between Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, a partnership that gave the innings shape after a fast start from Shafali Verma, who launched the first ball for six before Sadia Iqbal removed her. Jemimah Rodrigues made one before falling, but India still finished with a total that surpassed the score made in the tournament opener between England and Sri Lanka at the same ground on Friday.
Pakistan had a promising start of their own. They reached 52 for one in the powerplay while chasing 171, and Muneeba Ali made 41 before Deepti Sharma found the stumps with a direct hit. But the chase unraveled fast after that. Pakistan slipped to 79 for six inside 13 overs and never recovered, with Deepti finishing the job by slicing through the lower order as the innings ended at 106.
The collapse left Pakistan with the same problem that has followed them through this event before. This was their fourth consecutive Twenty20 defeat by India, and they have still never moved past the group stage at the T20 World Cup. India, by contrast, left Birmingham with a result that matched the force of its batting and bowling, and with a reminder that in this rivalry, even a good start can vanish in a few overs.
For Pakistan, the next question is not whether the chase was competitive for a brief stretch. It is how a side that was 52 for one in the powerplay could be reduced to 106 all out after so much early control, because against India in a World Cup, that is the margin that decides everything.
