NEW DELHI: Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of the Indian women's cricket team, has urged her players to adopt a fearless approach as they aim to secure their eighth straight Asia Cup championship. The team got off to a strong start by comprehensively defeating their arch-rivals Pakistan in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, on Friday.
After being put into bowl first, the Indian team dismissed Pakistan for a modest total of 108 runs. The Indian openers, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, then made light work of the chase, playing with confidence and aggression from the very beginning.
Verma scored a quick-fire 40, while Mandhana contributed 45 runs as they dominated the Pakistan bowling attack. Their partnership ensured that India reached the target with an impressive 35 balls to spare, setting the stage for a promising campaign in the tournament.
"Our bowlers and openers did the job. The first game is always a pressure game that sets the tone. Our entire unit played really well. When we were bowling, we were talking about early breakthroughs. With the bat, credit goes to Smriti and Shafali. We want to keep playing fearless cricket," PTI quoted Harmanpreet as saying at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Nida Dar, the captain of the Pakistan team, acknowledged that her team's performance in the Powerplay overs was subpar compared to their opponents. She believed this was a crucial factor in the outcome of the match.
"The difference was the powerplays, we lost both. The bowlers did well towards the end, though. We are confident of bouncing back," she said.
Deepti Sharma, a seasoned spinner for India, expressed her delight in playing a crucial role in the team's triumph. With figures of 3/20, she was named the player of the match.
"I am feeling really good as I could deliver as per the plan. I had the belief. As a unit, we are doing well for the last few months. The camps we have had helped a lot.
"I worked on my bowling after the South Africa series, so that helped. Nida Dar is a good batter, so her wicket was important," she said.
