Colombo: The biggest concern heading into the India–Pakistan clash at the R Premadasa Stadium was the threat of rain, which had earlier washed out the Australia–Sri Lanka match. But the weather gods stayed kind, allowing a full contest in which India reaffirmed their dominance over Pakistan with a commanding 88-run victory in the 2025 Women’s World Cup.
Defending 247, the Indian bowlers were relentless, with Kranti Gaud (3-20) and Deepti Sharma (3-45) leading the charge to bowl out Pakistan for 159 in 43 overs. The result also marks India’s 12th victory over Pakistan in the format and takes them to top of the points table in the competition.
The tone for India’s was set by Kranti, who maintained a stump to stump line and Renuka Singh Thakur, who along with the youngster extracted swing and seam movement in both directions, leaving Pakistan’s top order searching for answers.
As a result, Pakistan found themselves behind the required rate within the first 15 overs, a deficit they never quite recovered from, despite a gritty 81 off 106 balls from Sidra Amin. She reached her fifty in 82 deliveries and was dropped four times during her innings, but found little support from the rest of the lineup as India’s bowlers tightened the screws, and ensured their unbeaten record against their arch-rivals remained intact.
Pakistan’s chase lacked conviction from the word go, with the batters having no answers to a barrage of inswingers from Renuka and Kranti. India, despite missing three plumb lbw chances and burning both reviews, kept the pressure on - though Richa Ghosh’s two missed catches could’ve made the scorecard leaner.
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Australia win 17th match against Pakistan Colombo: Beth Mooney’s brilliant century and a ruthless display by Australia’s pace attack helped the defending champions crush Pakistan by 107 runs in their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium here. The emphatic win not only extended Australia’s unbeaten record to 17-0 but also lifted them to the top of the points table with two wins and one no result from three matches. After being reduced to 76/7, Mooney produced one of the finest rescue acts in Women’s World Cup history, scoring a composed 109 off 114 balls to anchor Australia’s recovery. She found an inspired ally in Alana King, whose unbeaten 51 off 49 balls guided Australia to 221/9, a total that looked improbable when Pakistan’s spinners had the upper hand. The Mooney-King pair added 106 runs for the ninth wicket, setting a new record for the highest ninth-wicket partnership in Women’s ODIs. King’s innings was also the highest individual score by a batter at number 10 or below in Women’s ODIs. |
