Leg-spinner Priyanka Roy's five-wicket haul and Anjum Chopra's gutsy, unbeaten 52-ball 37 helped India beat Pakistan in a Pool B match by five wickets and bounce back into contention in the women's World Twenty20 in Taunton on Saturday.
India skittled out Pakistan for a paltry 75 in 19.5 overs, thanks to a clinical display by Roy and pacer Rumeli Dhar (3-13), and then overhauled the target with 14 balls to spare.
Chasing the target, India got off to a disastrous start as they lost three wickets in first five overs, but Chopra, who cracked five fours, cashed in on her experience to help the team romp home.
Earlier, electing to bat, the Pakistan batting line-up failed to negotiate some excellent Indian bowling and only three batters -- opener Nain Abidi (17), Asmavia Iqbal (10) and Almas Akram (12) -- were able to get into double digit scores.
Dhar, who extracted fine bounces and lateral movement from the pitch, dealt the first blow by removing left-hand opener Bismah Maroof (6) and then sent back Sajjida Shah for a duck.
The other opener, Abidi, who had cracked three fours during her 18-ball stay and was looking dangerous, soon became Dhar's third victim as her ambitious shot found Priyanka Roy.
Pakistan failed to recover from those early blows and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
After Dhar's dazzling spell, Roy came up with a stunning spin bowling effort to pile on Pakistan's agony.
She sent back Javeria Khan (2) with her first delivery and then dismissed Armaan Khan (0) in the same over, before she ejecting skipper Sana Mir (8).
Gouher Sultana (1-9) also chipped in with a wicket.
In the end, Akram waged a lone battle but her 19-ball innings was not enough to push Pakistan's score beyond the 100-run mark.
Chasing the paltry target, the Indian women soon found themselves in a difficult situation as they lost three wickets for just 21 runs in five overs.
India suffered the first reverse in the form of Poonam Raut, who ran herself out without giving any trouble to the scorers.
Mithali Raj (10) then joined the other opener and former skipper Anjum Chopra in the middle, but just when the duo were getting their eyes in pacer Qanita Jalil dismissed Raj, leaving India at 15 for two.
Dhar (0) and Roy (7), who together scalped eight wickets to bundle out Pakistan, failed to repeat the magic with the willow and returned to the pavilion in quick succession. But Chopra held her nerve to complete the task.
Pakistan:
Nain Abidi c Roy b Dhar 17
Bismah Maroof c Naik b Dhar 6
Sajjida Shah c Roy b Dhar 0
Asmavia Iqbal run out 10
Urooj Mumtaz c & b Sultana 5
Javeria Khan st Naik b Roy 2
Sana Mir c Goswami b Roy 8
Armaan Khan c Kaur b Roy 0
Almas Akram c & b Roy 12
Qanita Jalil c Goswami b Roy 0
Batool Fatima not out 8
Extras: (LB-3, W-3, NB-1) 7
Total: (all out in 19.5 overs) 75
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-18, 3-27, 4-40, 5-42, 6-52, 7-52, 8-54, 9-55, 10-75.
Bowling: J Goswami 4-0-20-0, R Dhar 4-0-13-3, A Sharma 2-0-11-0, G Sultana 4-0-9-1, H Kaur 2-0-3-0, P Roy 3.5-0-16-5.
India:
P Raut run out 0
A Chopra not out 37
M Raj c Urooj Mumtaz b Qanita Jalil 10
R Dhar lbw b Asmavia Iqbal 0
P Roy c Qanita Jalil b Sana Mir 7
S Naik c Asmavia Iqbal b Javeria Khan 9
R Malhotra not out 6
Extras: (LB-5, W-4) 9
Total: (for 5 wkts in 17.4 overs) 78
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-16, 4-36, 5-58.
Bowling: Asmavia Iqbal 3-1-15-1, Qanita Jalil 3-1-15-1, Almas Akram 1-0-6-0, Sana Mir 4-1-11-1, Urooj Mumtaz 3-0-6-0, Javeria Khan 3.4-0-20-1.
