Women’s T20 Asia Cup, IND vs PAK as it happened: Ghosh’s cameo in vain as Pakistan win by 13 runs

4.40pm: That will be all from us. A third ever win for Pakistan in international women’s cricket against India, and a well deserved one at that. Throws the top four race open.

Harmanpreet Kaur post-match chat.

Where did you think it went wrong for you guys?

I think in the middle we were trying to give chances to other batters because going forward, we want to give chances so that when you play main games, you need to have everybody who can have good amount of runs on the hand. That was the reason we wanted to give chances. I think that really cost us today.

Do you think they had too many runs from the board or the target was gettable?

Oh, I think it was a chaseable target. I don’t think it was something we needed to put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but I think in the middle overs, we were not able to, take singles and then rotate the strike. That was very important for whichever format you play. I think we played too many dot balls and I think that cost us.

Talking about giving the others chances to bat. Was that the reason why you moved away from number four and battered late?

Yeah, definitely. Because you know, for me, it’s very important that whoever is new in the side, they should get good number of games before heading to the World Cup. If they get good games, then I just feel, if whenever you want to change the team, you should feel quite confident whoever is coming in. So I think it was a great opportunity for other batters to go and execute as well but unfortunately, you know, they were not able to make it.

In a tournament like this you think a defeat here is a good wake up call for you guys?

I think we are a side we never take any any team lightly and I don’t think we need to think too much. It’s part of the game. You know, yesterday, Thailand played a good cricket. So it’s part of the game you need to respect whoever played good cricket... and today, you know, they played a good cricket, they deserve to win. And of course, a lot of areas which we have learned and I think going forward, we need to just work on those areas and be strong. 

WICKET! 19.4: Rajeshwari Gayakwad 1(5) b Aiman Anwer And that’s all in this one. What a turnaround by Pakistan, so soon after a defeat against Thailand. India 124 all out

India 120/9 after 19 overs: Richa Ghosh gave India hope when the match seemed over, some superb ball-striking by the youngster but she falls and with that India’s hopes are over. 18 needed off the last over.

WICKET! 18.3: Richa Ghosh 26(13) ct Aliya Riaz b Sadia Iqbal She wasn’t going to go out wondering. A huge hit attempted, but she finds the fielder in the deep. Aliya Riaz is here there and everywhere. India 120/9

India 120/8 after 18.2 overs: Six and four to start the 19th over. Richa Ghosh takes on Sadia! Wow.

WICKET! 17.6: Radha Yadav 3(4) ct Aliya Riaz b Nashra Sundhu Looked like she nearly cleared the fielder there! But another superb catch. Pakistan’s fielding has actually been inspiring today. India 110/8

India 95/7 after 17 overs: 43 off 18 needed now. Richa in the middle can do it, but not sure if she is 100%. Radha Yadav in the middle with her.

WICKET! 16.2: Harmanpreet Kaur 12(12) ct Aliya Riaz b Nida Dar She hasn’t looked herself today, it must be said. She had to go for a big shot here, no option. Harmanpreet finds the fielder at long off. Big celebrations. India 91/7

India 91/5 after 16 overs: What an over. Just one run and a wicket. Richa unable to get off strike. Remember she had to go off the field earlier with ice around her neck.

WICKET! 15.2: Deepti Sharma 16(11) ct Bismah Maroof b Sadia Iqbal Oh dear, just when you thought the momentum was with India. An attempted scooped sweep, gets the toe end of the bat, India 91/6

India 90/5 after 15 overs: HUGE OVER! The biggest of the innings for India. Despite some less than ideal running between the wickets (the commentators losing their collective heads), Deepti Sharma finished with two fours in that over.

India 77/5 after 14 overs: A four for Harman in Aiman’s over. But still under par. This is completely observational, Harmanpreet Kaur still doesn’t appear 100%.

(Score corrected)

India 70/5 after 13 overs: Scoring rate from here on needs to be near 10 RPO. Deepti has started well, another four in that over.

WICKET! 12.1: D Hemalatha 20(22) b Tuba Hassan Another chance missed by Hemalatha. Tries to get cheeky with a scoop but is bowled. India 65/5

WICKET! 11.4: Pooja Vastrakar 5(8) Run Out Nashra Sandhu Oh dear, massive mixup. The bowler misfields. And Vastrakar is off and running. Hemalatha is not. Run out. India 63/4

India 59/3 after 11 overs: Score corrected.

India 59/3 after 11 overs: Some big hitting needed for India now. The required rate is nearly 9 and that’s a 9-run over thanks to a four for Hemalatha off Tuba. Nicely hit through midwicket.

India 50/3 after 10 overs: Still no Harmanpreet Kaur. She actually didn’t look 100% out there on the field today. Have to now wonder if she is alright.

WICKET! 9.4: Smriti Mandhana 17(19) ct Aiman Anwer b Nashra Sandhu Plenty of drama. First a rank short ball put away for four, next ball a massive miss by the keeper Muneeba to mess up a stumping chance when Mandhana had given up. But next ball the Indian opener finds the fielder at long on. India 50/3

India 46/2 after 9 overs: That’s an eventful over. Hemalatha seems to have edged one to keeper. At least the noise suggested so and the appeals from Pakistan were massive. All the umpire has to say is calm down. Next ball, Hemalatha smacks one over cover for four.

Tuba Hassan, an exciting leg spinner, into the attack.

India 40/2 after 8 overs: That’s a good over for India after a while. Hemalatha with a nice shot down the ground for four off Dar. India need more of that.

India 32/2 after 7 overs: The required rate is creeping up here, past 8 now. India need a good over soon. Just 2 from Aiman’s over.

A big innings for Hemalatha this. Good chance.

India 30/2 after 6 overs: That six by Meghana seems a long time back. Pakistan have had a great powerplay. But Mandhana is still in the middle.

WICKET! 5.2: Jemimah Rodrigues 2(8) ct Tuba Hassan b Nida Dar Dropped. Nearly dropped. Caught. Jemimah Rodrigues has a forgettable few minutes, not making the most of the chances she got and goes for another big one and mishit is completely. India 29/2

India 29/1 after 5 overs: Omaima drops Jemimah (although they don’t exactly rhyme, but give us that much). That could cost Pakistan dearly. A good over that, with JR unable to find the gap despite timing well.

Some medium pace with Aiman Anwer. Jemimah in the middle with her off-field partner in crime.

India 28/1 after 4 overs: Smriti Mandhana with one of the shots of the day so far, lovely use of the feet and pushed past cover for four. She is up and running too.

WICKET! 3.2: S Meghana 15(14) ct Sidra Ameen b Nashra Sandhu Meghana tries to play that inside out lofted shot she plays so well but doesn’t get the timing right. Good running catch by Sidra. India 23/1

India 23/0 after 3 overs: S Meghana continues to keep her aggressive style, she’ll not typically score slow runs. Lovely shot over cover for four off Sadia’s over.

India 15/0 after 2 overs: S Meghana with a six down the ground! Superb timing on that. Went some distance. Mandhana with a couple of good hits but the outfield not quick enough to take it for four

Spin from both ends for Pakistan. Nida Dar with her off spin.

India 5/0 after 1 over: Sadia Iqbal starts off with her left arm spin. A couple of doubles in the over for the Indian openers.

Meghana and Mandhana in the middle.

Pakistan finish on 137/6 after 20 overs: Deepti Sharma finishes things off quite well, 8 runs and a wicket in the final over and superb figures of 4-0-27-3. Nida Dar finishes unbeaten on 56* (37 balls), by some distance the best Pakistan batter on display.

WICKET! 19.4: Ayesha Naseem 9(7) ct Jemimah Rodrigues b Deepti Sharma Jemimah is not going to miss that. Seemed like Naseem hit that well enough but one of India’s best fielders holds on at deep midwicket. Pakistan 135/6

Pakistan 125/5 after 19 overs: An update we missed a while earlier was that Richa Ghosh walked off the field. Shafali Verma is behind the stumps. And that update proves critical here as she completely misses a stumping chance to dismiss Nida Dar.

WICKET! 17.3: Aliya Riaz 7(7) ct S Meghana b Pooja Vastrakar Sharp catch by Meghana at long on. Riaz got lucky the previous ball with an inside edge. But this time the Indian opener makes no mistake with a low catch. Pakistan 121/5

Half century for Nida Dar: Just off 30 balls. It has been a fine counterattacking knock.

Pakistan 111/4 after 16 overs: 76 (58) that partnership between Dar and Maroof. Riaz is the new batter.

WICKET! 15.4: Bismah Maroof 32(35) ct Rajeshwari Gayakwad b Renuka Singh And the breakthrough finally. Maroof tries to get funky here, to scoop the ball over short-fine. But ends up finding the fielder at the short-third. Pakistan 109/4

Pakistan 107/3 after 15 overs: Pakistan continue to find the boundary with regularity. Nida Dar dances down the ground against Radha Yadav... some swagger in that shot.

As former captain Sana Mir says...

Pakistan 98/3 after 14 overs: Perfectly placed by Maroof through the offside as Renuka concedes a four. Another good over for Pakistan.

Pakistan 89/3 after 13 overs: Pakistan continue to keep the foot on the pedal. A four each for Dar and Maroof in Vastrakar’s over. Back-to-back big overs for Pakistan.

Pakistan 79/3 after 12 overs: Pakistan on the charge! 15 runs in that Hemalatha over. Superbly done by Nida Dar, last ball of the over, dancing down the track to smash a six down the ground.

Pakistan 64/3 after 11 overs: Pooja Vastrakar continues after the drinks break and it’s a tidy over from the pacer.

Pakistan 61/3 after 10 overs: Counterattacking is exactly what Nida Dar is trying to do here. Takes on Gayakwad over mid-on for four. Good little spell for Pakistan as we take a drinks break. India need to just regather on the field here, some misfields creeping in. The heat can’t help too.

Pakistan 53/3 after 9 overs: Think even Bismah Maroof had a smile on her face after that was given not out. The ball turned sharply (perhaps the only reason to give that not out) and hit Maroof on the backfoot low. She was deep in the crease too. Looked plumb enough. Gayakwad too smiles. Radha comes on next up and Nida Dar plays a lovely sweep for four. She can counterattack here.

Nida Dar joins Bismah Maroof.

Pakistan 33/3 after the powerplay. Now 39/3 at the end of 7 overs as Hemalatha’s over goes for 6. India in complete control.

WICKET! 5.6: Omaima Sohail 0(2) lbw Deepti Sharma Three quick wickets and two in an over! Deepti Sharma bringing the heat. This one is something from the pre-DRS era. An attempted sweep missed, the ball seems to be in line but might have bounced over. But it is given and India are on the charge. Pakistan 33/3

WICKET! 5.4: Muneeba Ali 17(17) st Richa Ghosh b Deepti Sharma Both the openers are back in the pavilion. Nicely flighted by Deepti, sharp work by the keeper to catch Muneeba short. Pakistan 33/2

WICKET! 4.3: Sidra Ameen 11(14) ct Richa Ghosh b Pooja Vastrakar Vociferous appeal by India and the umpire raises her finger. The batter didn’t seem happy but the decision was immediate and there was a noise too. Tough to say though without the technology. Pakistan 26/1

Pakistan 25/0 after 4 overs: A mishit but well placed shot past mid-on by Muneeba at the start of Deepti’s over for four. That is a good over for Pakistan too, keeping the scoreboard ticking. The openers have looked to score regularly.

Pakistan 16/0 after 3 overs: A four for Sidra to start that Renuka over but the Indian bowler comes back well enough.

Pakistan 10/0 after 2 overs: Deepti Sharma from the other end and she nearly induces a false shot from Muneeba. Falls between the fielders. But good intent early on from Pakistan.

Pakistan 5/0 after 1 over: Renuka starts off with a couple of short and wide ones to the LHB Muneeba. But gets her lines right after that.

Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali are opening the batting. Batting has been the cause of main concern for Pakistan.

Harmanpreet Kaur: Says she wanted to bowl first anyway.

We should know more about the team selections from toss interview which will be telecast shortly.

Interesting selection calls by India: Harmanpreet Kaur comes back to lead India, that’s a given. But some other interesting calls today. Shafali Verma sits out, S Meghana stays in... perhaps an indication that Meghana is now ahead in the pecking order to partner Mandhana at the top. Despite not too many returns to show, Hemalatha continues to be backed. She is getting the chances to make a mark. But on the other hand, no Sneh Rana in the XI who continues to be in-and-out. KP Navgire misses out too, with the return of the Indian captain.

PAKISTAN XI via BCCI: Bismah Maroof (c), Sidra Ameen, Tuba Hassan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Omaima Sohail, Nida Dar, Ayesha Naseem, Aliya Riaz, Sadia Iqbal, Aiman Anwer, Nashra Sandhu.

India XI via BCCI: S Meghana, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), D Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh

TOSS (via BCCI): PAKISTAN won the toss and elected to bat.

12.30pm: India have rotated around in the last couple of matches, but you’d expect them to play close to their full strength today. Toss and team news should be in shortly.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Asia Cup 2022 clash between India and Pakistan in Sylhet. It’s match No 13 of the tournament and one with plenty riding on it for the final four standings.

Pakistan were stunned yesterday by a spirited Thailand side and will be itching to bounce back. India have been unbeaten, and largely untested, so far in this tournament. It sets up a fascinating clash between the two sides.

Squads

India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Dayalan Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (w), Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Sabbhineni Meghana, Meghna Singh, Kiran Navgire, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

Pakistan: Bismah Maroof (c), Tuba Hassan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Omaima Sohail, Waheeda Akhtar, Sadaf Shamas, Natalia Pervaiz, Umme Hani, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Kainat Imtiaz, Ayesha Naseem, Sadia Iqbal, Aiman Anwer, Nashra Sundhu, Sidra Ameen