Women’s T20 World Cup: India celebrate Dubai International Stadium’s century with win over Pakistan

Harmanpreet Kaur’s side bounce back after opening defeat as they ease past their greatest rivals in front of packed stands

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India's captain Harmanpreet Kaur, right, and teammate Deepti Sharma take a run. AFP

India's Jemimah Rodrigues made 23 off 28. AP

Pakistan's Omaima Sohail, right, celebrates the wicket of India's Shafali Verma with captain Fatima Sana. AP

India's Shafali Verma on her way to making 32 runs. AFP

Pakistan's players celebrate the dismissal of India's Smriti Mandhana, caught by Tuba Hassan off the bowling of Sadia Iqbal for 7. AFP

India's Smriti Mandhana plays a shot. AFP

India's wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, right, dives to takes the catch to remove Pakistan captain Fatima Sana. AP

Pakistan's Fatema Sana on her way to a total of 13. AP

Pakistan's Nida Dar is bowled out by India's Arundhati Reddy after top-scoring for her side with 28 off 24 deliveries. AFP

Pakistan's Muneeba Ali made 17 off 26 balls. AP

Pakistan's Gull Feroza is bowled by India's Renuka Singh Thakur. AP

India's Renuka Singh, centre, celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Gull Feroza with her teammates. AP

It feels appropriate, given both the city and the format, that Dubai International Stadium barely had much time to celebrate its 100th T20 international before cracking straight on with the next project.

The 25,000-capacity ground in Sports City had the perfect occasion with which to bring up its century: India v Pakistan in a Women’s T20 World Cup.

Such is the rapid advance of this place that it had about 45 minutes to toast a job well done, before it was followed by its 101st.

Fairy cakes with a neat image of the ground and its distinctive “ring of fire” floodlights were handed round. They needed to be scoffed quickly before they went out of date.

So much has changed since Pakistan’s men inaugurated Dubai’s first international cricket ground with a series against Australia back in May 2009.

Women did not even have a T20 World Cup of their own at that precise point in time. Their first one started 35 days later in England.

Now the female game is so popular that the stands in Dubai were pulsing for the city’s first meeting between the two great subcontinental rivals.

In the areas of the stadium that were shaded, at least, it was packed. The attendance of around 16,000 was the largest for any league fixture in a Women’s World Cup to date.

And it was thought back in 2009 that major fixtures in the UAE needed Shahid Afridi to be playing in them to attract a crowd.

The former Pakistan all-rounder was the player of the match in the first one-day international the ground staged, then he shared the same award with Umar Gul in its opening T20 game.

There have been 92 men’s T20Is, and now – with the West Indies v Scotland match following the Asian derby in the second match of Sunday’s double header – nine women’s ones.

And it goes without saying that even Afridi could not draw a crowd quite as well as an India v Pakistan fixture.

The Pakistan women’s team have some all-round stars of their own now, inspired perhaps by Afridi and Co, as well as certainly the likes of Sana Mir, the former captain who is here to commentate on this competition.

Fatima Sana, their captain and all-rounder, did her best to inspire her side in thought and deed. She played a brisk, if short-lived, cameo with the bat as Pakistan posted 105 for eight from their 20 overs.

She then took two for 23 with the ball, both wickets in consecutive balls, but the resurgent Indians forced a six-wicket win to help get themselves back into the tournament.

“I suggested everyone enjoy being in the field because we all know that the Indian support is a lot there, and the whole crowd is totally supporting them,” Fatima Sana said. “But the whole team was enjoying being there and they performed according to that.”

Arundhati Reddy was named player of the match after taking three wickets for 19 for India. She said the side were inspired by the support they got – which was the vast majority of the crowd.

“There were a lot of Indians supporting us and we could feel it just driving into the stadium today,” Reddy said. “We hope they keep cheering for us.”

While the win, secured with an over to spare, was well received by the supporters, India still have much to do to earn a place in the semi-final.

Their opening day thrashing by New Zealand means they still have a significant run rate deficit, with matches still to play against Australia and Sri Lanka.

“We understand net run rate is important but also winning the game is all the more important for us,” Redd said.

“Net run rate will be in play especially in this group. The main thing was to finish the game, but we’ve discussed it. And we’re looking forward to improving on it in the next few games.”

Furthermore, there is a concern over the fitness of their captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. The Indians were within one blow of victory when Kaur went down with a neck injury in an innocuous incident.

She was unable to continue, and had to retire hurt on 29 from 24 deliveries. Sajeevan Sajana came to the wicket and promptly hit the first ball she faced for the winning runs.