Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma bailed India out with bat and ball respectively to fire them to an emphatic opening win over Pakistan in front of a sellout crowd in Birmingham on Sunday.

Mandhana top-scored with 68 to lift India from 18 for 2 to 170, their highest in a T20 World Cup against Pakistan. Then, Deepti struck twice in two overs after Pakistan’s openers rattled 38 in quick time.

Deepti’s blockbuster act, though, was a direct hit from short third to run out the dangerous Muneeba Ali for 41, triggering a collapse Pakistan didn’t quite recover from. They lost 5 for 26 through the middle phase as India’s spinners tightened their grip. They were eventually bowled out for 106, with Deepti finishing with 5 for 10 to become the highest wicket-taker in women’s T20Is.

In a match where both teams missed a number of opportunities on the field, the eventual difference was India’s death-overs lift. Richa Ghosh, who allayed fears of a form slump during the warm-ups last week, smashed 34 off 17. This included a sequence of four fours and a six off her last eight legal deliveries to help India muscle 60 off the last six overs when it seemed like they’d finish around 150.

That not only helped India finish on a high, but also gave them a massive net run rate cushion in what is being dubbed the group of death.

India looked to go hard early. Shafali Verma launched her first ball for six, but was caught behind four balls later off left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal in trying to manufacture a boundary opportunity. Jemimah Rodrigues then played an uncharacteristic swipe to be taken at cover in the fourth over, giving left-arm seamer Tasmia Rubab a wicket off her second ball on World Cup debut. At 18 for 2, India needed to stem early damage.

Mandhana offset some of that early pressure by hitting two boundaries off spinner Rameem Shamim in the fifth over. Mandhana was on 27 when Aliya Riyaz dropped her running back from mid-off to deny Rubab a second wicket. At that stage, India were struggling for momentum at 44 for 2 in the 8th over.

Fatima Sana rustled through the middle overs with spin as Harmanpreet Kaur also took her time to settle in, scoring 5 off 10 at one stage. But the introduction of left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu forced a slight change in approach as Harmanpreet hit her for two boundaries in her first over, and India scored 24 between overs 7-10.

Mandhana was particularly superb in stepping out and hitting inside-out over cover, one such boundary helped her raise a 34-ball half-century. Soon after, Saira Jabeen reprieved her for a second time at deep midwicket off Iqbal. You got the sense the floodgates had truly opened.

Mandhana holed out to long-on for 68 to give Pakistan a reprieve. That turned into double-delight three balls later when Bharti Fulmali was stumped, giving Iqbal the charge. When Harmanpreet flicked Fatima Sana to deep square, India had lost 3 for 14. India then went through a 21-ball period without a boundary before the runs came in a torrent in the last two overs.

Rubab, who came into her final overs with figures of 3-0-17-1, was then taken to the cleaners with Ghosh hitting her for a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 in a 23-run over. After displaying her brute force in the leg-side arc between mid-on and deep midwicket in the penultimate over, Ghosh’s deft touches helped pocket 15 off the final over to help India sign off with momentum on their side.

Muneeba should’ve been out in the second over when she jabbed at a sharp-turner from offie Shreyanka Patil, only for Ghosh to fluff an opportunity. Then in the fourth over, Shreyanka deceived her in flight to slice a drive to point where Arundhati Reddy put down a straightforward chance. In between that, Muneeba threw Kranti Gaud off her lengths by walking across to scoop. She was also quick to pick length and cut well as Pakistan raced to 37 for 0 in four overs.

Across the next six overs, Pakistan lost the cream of their middle order as India’s spinners tightened their grip, picking up 4 for 21. Deepti aside, Shree Charani, on T20 World Cup debut, gave an excellent account of herself, picking up 3 for 21 in the middle overs. Deepti then picked up three wickets in her fourth over to wrap up the game in the 17th, giving India a massive win and walking away with the Player of the Match award.

SCORES:
India Women  170 for 6 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 68, Harmanpreet Kaur 36, Richa Ghosh 34, Deepti Sharma 12*; Sadia Iqbal 2-41, Fatima Sana 2-33, Tasmia Rubab 1-41, Rameem Shamim 1-30) beat Pakistan Women  106 in 17 overs  (Muneeba Ali 41, Gull Feroza 12, Ayesha Zafar 12, Aliya Riyaz 18; Deepti Sharma 5-10, Shree Charani 3-21, Shafali Verma 1-22) by 64 runs

[Cricinfo]

Fresh from his historic record-breaking performance in Rome, Rumesh Tharanga will be one of the headline attractions in the men’s javelin event at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting which will be held today.

‎Tharanga produced a sensational throw of 92.62 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Rome earlier this month, setting a new Sri Lankan record and achieving a world-leading mark for the season. His remarkable effort not only shattered the meeting record but also propelled him to eighth place on the world all-time list.

‎The achievement elevated the Sri Lankan star to the status of the second-best Asian javelin thrower in history and further strengthened his credentials as one of the leading contenders on the international circuit.

‎In Ostrava, Tharanga will extend the newly commenced rivalry with two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. Peters finished second behind the 23-year-old in Rome, setting the stage for another highly anticipated contest between the two elite throwers.

‎However, Tharanga is not aiming for a big throw. “I am not prepared for a big throw in Ostrave. We are still not set for peak performances,” Tharanga told in an online interview conducted by Chathura Ranasinghe.

‎The women’s javelin competition is also expected to be of a high standard, featuring an impressive field led by two-time World Under-20 champion Adriana Vilagoš. She will be joined by Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk, the silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and Croatia’s Sara Kolak, the Olympic champion from Rio 2016.

‎With several of the world’s top javelin athletes in action, the Ostrava meeting promises an exciting showcase of throwing talent, with Tharanga aiming to build on the momentum generated by his career-defining performance in Rome.

Sri Lanka bounced back from the first T20I defeat by putting on an all-round show that earned them series parity in Kingston. Kamil Mishara’s unbeaten 61 at the top and Dasun Shanaka’s middle-order assault (58 off 24) powered Sri Lanka to a big total that the bowlers comfortably defended. Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga picked three wickets each as West Indies fell well short in chase.

‎Sri Lanka flew off the blocks via Kusal Mendis in the Powerplay, before he and Pathum Nissanka were dismissed in the space of four deliveries. Mendis’s 19-ball 31 did enough to give the visitors a strong start. Pavan Rathnayake fell on the otherside of the Powerplay, but from 43/3, Mishara and Kamindu Mendis began repair work. They stitched a fairly conservative stand – worth 45 off 35 balls, before all hell broke loose with the arrival of Shanaka.

‎The all-rounder launched his offensive against Roston Chase, starting with a six over the roof. He hit another six and a four in a 19-run 14th over. He took boundaries off Shamar Springer too, even as Mishara continued his circumspect essay. That turned too, in the death overs as he went from 22 off 23 to 61 off 40, taking on Matthew Forde with a couple of sixes and getting to his fifty with one off Romario Shepherd. The West Indies all-rounder conceded 19 runs in that over. In the following over, Shanaka reached his 19-ball fifty with a six off Springer as fours and sixes came easily in this period of play. The only reason Sri Lanka didn’t go comfortably past the 200-run mark was because Joseph pulled back with a stunning final over where he conceded only three runs and picked two wickets. Shanaka was one of the two, not before smashing 58 off just 24 deliveries – an innings laced with five fours and four sixes.

‎West Indies received an early jolt in chase as they were reduced to 9 for 2 in the second over, with both openers Shai Hope and Brandon King departing, to Dunith Wellalage and Chameera respectively. Shimron Hetmyer and Powell made a real attempt at turning it around as they put West Indies on par with the asking rate nearly till the halfway stage. They took 28 off two Eshan Malinga overs on either side of the Powerplay and picked 18 off a Maheesh Theekshana over. Hetmyer even survived a tricky stumping call, only to be run out just four deliveries later in a double-wicket 10th over that derailed West Indies.

‎Powell, who’d thrown his bat around until then, also perished – for a 26-ball 43. From 91/4, West Indies suffered a nosedive. The next six wickets came for just 66 runs as the middle and lower-order couldn’t consolidate the efforts of those before them. In the 19th over, West Indies folded for 157.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka

194/6 in 20 overs (Kamil Mishara 61n.o., Dasun Shanaka 58; Shamar Joseph 3-32)

‎West Indies 157 in 18.1 overs (Rovman Powell 43; Dushmantha Chameera 3/09, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/38) (cricbuzz)