India’s 88-run win over Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday may have extended its unblemished record in World Cup encounters to 12-0, but it was far from a commanding performance. The scorecard will record another chapter in India’s continued dominance, yet the match itself exposed worrying cracks in the team’s batting rhythm and overall execution.
Pakistan, opting to field first, hoped to restrict India to a chaseable target—something around 250. Led by a disciplined five-bowler attack, Pakistan achieved just that, bundling India out for 247. Diana Baig spearheaded the effort with a four-wicket haul, while captain Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal applied sustained pressure early on. Their plan to unsettle India’s top order bore fruit when Smriti Mandhana fell within the first ten overs, leaving India struggling for momentum.
The middle overs proved frustrating for the Indian camp as Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal’s cautious stand slowed down the scoring rate. When Rawal departed, captain Harmanpreet Kaur attempted to inject some urgency, but Pakistan’s disciplined bowling denied her fluency. Frequent interruptions due to a bug infestation further broke the rhythm, forcing umpires to pause play multiple times for fumigation.
Jemimah Rodrigues’s gritty 32 off 37 balls and Richa Ghosh’s brisk 35 from 20 deliveries lifted India past the 240-mark, lending some late respectability to an otherwise sluggish innings.
Pakistan’s chase began on an unfortunate note when Muneeba Ali was dismissed in bizarre fashion—run out after failing to ground her bat despite being well within reach. Sidra Amin, however, steadied the innings with a composed 80 from 106 balls, keeping Pakistan in the contest despite a steady fall of wickets at the other end. Her dismissal proved decisive, triggering a collapse that saw the visitors bundled out short of the target.
While India walked away with another emphatic win on paper, the performance underlined deeper issues—poor strike rotation, an over-reliance on late-order hitting, and a less formidable batting core than in previous tournaments. For Pakistan, the match served as proof that India’s much-vaunted lineup can be contained with persistence and planning.
As the tournament progresses, India will take comfort in victory but must confront its growing vulnerabilities before they turn into costly cracks on bigger occasions.
