Mandhana and Deepti star as India beat Pakistan
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- India beat Pakistan by 64 runs in their T20 World Cup Group 1 opener at Edgbaston, posting 170-6 and bowling Pakistan out for 106 in 17 overs, with Pakistan's final seven wickets falling for just 31 runs.
- Smriti Mandhana smashed 68 off 44 balls (9 fours, 2 sixes) and was dropped twice — on 27 and 55 — while building a 91-run stand with captain Harmanpreet Kaur after India had slumped to 18-2 inside four overs.
- Deepti Sharma finished with 5-10, removing India's first two wickets and returning to dismiss the final three batters, with leg-spinner Sree Charani supporting with 3-21.
- Richa Ghosh rescued a stalling India innings by striking four consecutive boundaries in Tasmia Rubab's 23-run penultimate over, with Deepti adding 12 off 9 balls to close the innings.
- Pakistan haven't beaten India since the 2016 edition of this competition and now likely need to beat both Australia and South Africa to reach the semi-finals from a group led by India and Australia.
- India are chasing a complete set of global trophies after winning the ODI World Cup in November, with the men's side already holding the T20 and 50-over titles.
Why it matters: India's comfortable 64-run margin, built on Mandhana's twice-dropped 68 and Deepti's match-winning 5-10, slots them alongside Australia at the top of Group 1 and pushes Pakistan — winless against India in this tournament since 2016 — into a must-win scenario against both Australia and South Africa to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
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