India registered a narrow six-wicket win over Pakistan to clinch their first points in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday. India struggled to dominate their rivals while chasing a 106-run target at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and now face a tough challenge to finish in the top two in Group A.
After a heavy defeat against New Zealand in their opening game, the Women in Blue struggled to close down a gap in the points table despite restricting Pakistan to 105 while bowling first. India find themselves in the fourth position, below Pakistan, with a net run rate of -1.217 and next face Sri Lanka and Australia.
India are not tipped favourites to finish in the top two to qualify for the semi-finals from Group A and NRR might play a huge role. Smriti Mandhana accepted a poor batting show against Pakistan and added that her team is keeping an eye on NRR as well.
The star opener scored just 7 runs off 16 balls as India took 119 balls to chase down a 106-run target in Dubai. Smriti said that India were 'calculative' while chasing and didn't want to lose wickets in attempting to score quick runs.
"A better start with the bat would have been good, but we will take that win," Smriti said during the post-match presentation. "Me and Shafali could not time the ball. We didn't want to end up losing a lot of wickets. We were a little calculative. The NRR is in our heads.
"They have been playing good cricket but this game (against Pakistan) will give us the momentum. We were not up to the mark in the batting. We were 10-15 runs short."
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 29* off 24 balls but hurt her neck while batting in the 19th over. Harmanpreet retired out and looked in pain while returning to the pavilion. Smriti said it's too early to say anything about Harmanpreet's injury after the game.
"Too soon to say anything," Smriti added. "The medical team is looking at it. Hope it's not too bad."
India will next return to action against Sri Lanka on October 8 in Dubai and will look to register a big win to improve their net run rate in the points table. New Zealand are leading Group A after a huge 58-run win over India while the defending champions Australia stay second after beating Sri Lanka.
