Indian spinner Sree Charani praised teammate Prema Rawat as a “natural talent” after India secured a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in their Women’s Asia Cup 2026 match at Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.
India bowled out Pakistan for 55 runs before chasing the target in 8.4 overs. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 18 and Deepti Sharma on 12.
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Charani and Rawat were instrumental in dismissing Pakistan cheaply, each taking three wickets. Charani’s bowling figures were 3 for 7 from four overs, while Rawat recorded 3 for 9.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Charani described
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Charani described Rawat as a superb player with natural ability, praising her skills in batting, bowling and fielding. “I think Prema is superb, like natural talent she has. She has everything: fielding, batting, bowling- everything,” Charani said.
With this victory, India completed a perfect group stage, winning all three matches against Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan to earn six points. Pakistan’s last group match against Hong Kong will decide their place in the final four.
On the team’s mindset ahead of the high-profile match, Charani said: “It’s simple, sir. One game at a time. It’s not about anything.”
In the chase, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana
In the chase, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana opened for India. Verma struck a six from the first ball and reached 3,000 runs in Women’s T20 Internationals at 22 years and 220 days, becoming the youngest and fastest player to reach the milestone by balls faced.
Verma was dismissed for 12 in the second over by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, who also dismissed Pratika Rawal for 4 and Mandhana for 9, leaving India at 29 for 3.
Kaur and Sharma then steadied the innings, guiding India to 34 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. Sana took all three early wickets, joining an elite group of captains who have taken at least three wickets in the first six overs of a Women’s T20I.
Earlier, Charani and Rawat’s bowling restricted Pakistan after
Earlier, Charani and Rawat’s bowling restricted Pakistan after openers Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar put on 27 runs. Ali was dismissed for 13, and Charani took two wickets in her third over to reduce Pakistan to 29 for 3.
Charani took her third wicket in the eighth over, dismissing Ayesha Zafar for 2, while Rawat joined to claim further wickets. Pakistan’s captain Fatima Sana was dismissed for a seven-ball duck by Deepti Sharma. Pakistan’s innings collapsed to 35 for 6 after 9.1 overs.
Pakistan continued to struggle, losing wickets regularly to be 54 for 9 by 16.3 overs. Deepti Sharma took the final wicket to end Pakistan’s innings at 55 in 18.1 overs.
The Indian spinners Charani (3/7) and Rawat (3/9) performed exceptionally, with Deepti Sharma taking two wickets and Shafali Verma one.
Source: thenewsmill.com
