Several Indian cricketers like Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Murli Vijay, Virender Sehwag and Kapil Dev among others congratulated the Indian women team for beating their arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 at the County Ground in Derby on July 2. This was the third consecutive victory in this tournament for India. They had defeated hosts England by 35 runs in the opening match of their campaign before thrashing the West Indies by seven wickets.
Earlier, Indian skipper Mithali Raj won the toss and she decided to bat first. Though the start was not as per script as India lost in-form left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana early with just seven runs on the board. Indian eves kept losing their wickets at regular intervals and they posted 169/9 in their quota of 50 overs. For India, Punam Rat was the highest run scorer with 47. For Pakistan, Nashra Sandhu claimed four wickets and Sadia Yousuf two.
In reply, chasing a low target of 170, Pakistan failed to get going from the start and they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. All credit goes to Indian skipper Mithali Raj for the way she used her bowlers. For India, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht picked up a five-wicket haul. Bisht during he spell maintained a tight length which did not allow the Pakistan batters to open up their arms and score easily.
Following the victory, Indian cricketers took to their Twitter handle to congratulate the “Women In Blue”. Gautam Gmabhir wrote: “@BCCIWomen bossing around at Derby against Pakistan. Well done Team @M_Raj03 #ladiesspecial.”
Sanjay Manjrekar: “With key batsmen failing, key bowlers led by Ekta Bisht came to the fore for India. Well done India.”
Virender Sehwag: “Wow !Those not watching missing out on a spectacular World Cup performance by our bowlers.170 looking like 270 ,way bowlers bowling.”
Congratulations @BCCIWomen on winning 3rd consecutive game. 3/3 __ #INDvPAK #WWC17
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) July 2, 2017
Woah!!! Brilliant performance by our women's cricket team, way to go. Congratulations!! @BCCIWomen
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) July 2, 2017
Wow !Those not watching missing out on a spectacular World Cup performance by our bowlers.170 looking like 270 ,way bowlers bowling#INDvPAK
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 2, 2017
Tough luck for @mandhana_smriti today.Wish @M_Raj03 & team very best, rooting for a Perfect 10 @DerbyshireCCC @BCCIWomen #INDvPAK #WWC17
— VIJAY (@mvj888) July 2, 2017
What a victory !! Great performance by Indian cricket team today. Thrilled by the determination shown. #INDvPAK #WWC17
— Kapil Dev (@therealkapildev) July 2, 2017
@BCCIWomen bossing around at Derby against Pakistan. Well done Team @M_Raj03 #ladiesspecial #ICCWomensWorldCup2017
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) July 2, 2017
Brief scores: India 169/9 in 50 overs (Punam Raut 47, Deepti Sharma 28; Nashra Sandhu 4/26) vs Pakistan 74 in 38.1 overs (Nahida Khan 23, San Mir 29, Ekta Bisht 5/18, Mansi Joshi 2/9).
