IND vs PAK: Fans laud Richa Ghosh for brilliant glove work, Gayakwad shines with ball

The Indian women's cricket team led by Mithali Raj defeated Pakistan on Sunday to kickstart their 2022 World Cup campaign in style. India beat Pakistan by 107 runs at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, where the latest edition of the Women's World Cup is underway. Indian wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh, who played her first-ever World Cup match today, was exceptional with the gloves as she took five catches from behind the stumps and also assisted her teammates in LBW calls.

Richa Ghosh has become the only wicketkeeper to have five or more dismissals on her World Cup debut. She also became the Indian woman wicketkeeper with the most catches in an ODI inning. Netizens have since turned to social media to heap praise on Richa, who impressed on and all with her amazing performance on World Cup debut.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad picks 4-wicket-haul

Meanwhile, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who also played for India in the 2017 Women's World Cup final, picked up a four-wicket haul. She provided the first breakthrough to India by dismissing Javeria Khan for 11 off 28 balls in the 11th over. She then came back in the middle-overs and picked three back-to-back wickets in the form of Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, and Sidra Nawaz for 11, 17, and 12 runs, respectively. Courtesy of Rajeshwari's incredible bowling performance, India were able to bowl Pakistan out for just 137 runs. 

Earlier in the game, Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian opener to score more than 2500 runs in women's ODI. She smashed 52 off 75 balls while opening the batting for India. 

India won the match by a massive margin of 107 runs, thus maintaining its winning streak against Pakistan in the World Cups. Pooja Vastrakar was adjudged the player of the match for her outstanding performance with the bat as she came in at a crucial time for India and smashed 67 off 59 balls. India was struggling to put runs on the board when Vastrakar came in the middle. She forged a vital 122-run partnership with Sneh Rana to help India climb from 114-6 to 236-7. In the process, Vastrakar and Rana also registered the highest-ever 7th wicket partnership in women's ODI.   

Image: BCCIWomen/Twitter