Colombo, Oct 5 (NationPress) Harleen Deol's steady innings of 46 and Richa Ghosh’s quickfire unbeaten 35 propelled India to a total of 247 runs in their 50 overs against Pakistan during the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. The match was disrupted multiple times, extending the innings to four hours due to pest control measures.

India’s innings was marked by a lack of rhythm, with numerous batters starting strong but failing to convert their efforts into significant scores, resulting in 173 dot balls. Facing a precarious position at 159/5 in the 35th over, India seemed vulnerable, particularly in the absence of Amanjot Kaur. However, they rallied in the last four overs, adding 44 runs to set a respectable target.

With no half-centuries recorded, India will rely on their bowling attack to defend 247 on a challenging pitch for a second consecutive victory. For Pakistan, Diana Baig was the standout bowler, taking 4 wickets for 69 runs, while Fatima Sana Khan, Said Iqbal, Rameen Shamim, and Nashra Sandhu also contributed with wickets.

India began their innings on a positive note as Pratika Rawal showcased her skills with a series of boundaries off Diana. Smriti Mandhana also made her mark with a flurry of boundaries, narrowly escaping an lbw appeal that was shown to be outside leg-stump upon review.

However, Pakistan quickly gained control when Fatima trapped Smriti lbw with a sharp nip-backer, leading to a wasted review for India. Harleen Deol got off the mark with a late cut for four and launched a six over long-on after dancing down the pitch. Pakistan struck again when Pratika was dismissed by an arm-ball from Sadia that rattled her off-stump.

Despite Harleen and Harmanpreet Kaur hitting a boundary each, Pakistan's disciplined bowling kept the runs in check. Diana continued her impressive spell by claiming Harmanpreet caught down the leg side, followed by Jemimah Rodrigues, only to have her joy cut short when it was revealed she had overstepped the crease, granting Jemimah a reprieve.

Jemimah managed to score runs through pulls, sweeps, and late-cuts, narrowly avoiding a run-out. However, Harleen's innings ended at 46 when she holed out to long-on off Rameen, leading to a brief break for pest control.

Following the interruption, Pakistan took another wicket as Nashra's delivery trapped Jemimah lbw for 32. With Deepti Sharma struggling to accelerate the scoring, Sneh Rana, unexpectedly promoted, fell to Fatima. Diana’s return proved effective as Deepti nicked behind to Sidra in a wicket maiden 46th over. Richa, however, struck two sixes and a four off the pace bowlers, with both she and Kranti Gaud also connecting for boundaries off the spinner.

Pakistan's slow over-rate forced them to keep an extra fielder inside the circle, allowing Richa to unleash a switch-hit for a four off Diana, despite a near-collision that led to her being dropped. Although Kranti managed a four off a pull, Diana dismissed her and Renuka Singh Thakur in successive deliveries, leaving India just three runs short of the 250 mark.

Brief scores:

India 247 all out in 50 overs (Harleen Deol 46, Richa Ghosh 35 not out; Diana Baig 4-69, Fatima Sana Khan 2-38) against Pakistan