Daijiworld Media Network – Colombo

Colombo, Oct 6: India continued their dominance over arch-rivals Pakistan with a thumping 88-run victory in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur credited her bowlers for setting up the emphatic win after India posted 247 on a sluggish pitch and bowled Pakistan out for 159. Kranti Gaud and Deepti Sharma starred with three wickets each to hand India their 12th straight ODI win against Pakistan.

“Very happy, very important game for all of us and I’m sure everyone back home is happy as well. Our bowling was great,” said Harmanpreet after the match. “Kranti was outstanding, and Renuka helped her with crucial breakthroughs. Though we dropped a few chances, a win makes everything better.”

The Indian skipper praised Richa Ghosh for her unbeaten 25-run cameo which lifted India’s total. “It wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on, it had a hold because of the rain. We wanted to keep wickets in hand and Richa batted really well to give us that crucial 30 runs,” she added.

Kranti Gaud, who returned impressive figures of 3 for 20, dedicated her performance to her hometown Ghuwara in Madhya Pradesh. “Feels very good. I’m proud and this is for the people of my village. They had even set up a big LED screen to watch the match,” she said.

Pakistan captain Fatima Sana admitted that her team conceded too many runs in key phases. “We gave away a lot of runs in the powerplay and in the death overs. We should have restricted them under 200,” she said, while lauding Sidra Amin’s fighting 81.

With this win, India moved to the top of the points table and will next face South Africa in Visakhapatnam on October 9, followed by a clash against defending champions Australia on October 12. Harmanpreet said the team aims to carry the momentum forward as the tournament shifts to Indian soil.