ICC Women's World Cup 2017: Ekta Bisht Shines As India Decimate Pakistan By 95 Runs

Riding on Ekta Bisht's (5 for 18) brilliant bowling show, the Indian team demolished Pakistan by 95 runs in their ICC Women's World Cup match at County Ground in Derby on Sunday. India, who had a disappointing first half as they could only manage a paltry 169 for 9, bowled out Pakistan for just 74 in 38.1 overs. It was a sweet revenge for the Indian eves, who were beaten at home when the two teams met in the ICC World T20 in Delhi, last year.

Pakistan women also hold the record of being skittled for the lowest ever total in Women's World Cup tournament. They were dismissed for 27 against Australia in 1997.

With this win, India now have six points from three games and are at the top of the table.

???? The winning moment from the touch line! ??#INDvPAK #WWC17 pic.twitter.com/k4WQvBscAl

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 2, 2017

Ekta's five-for is the best figures by an Indian bowler in World Cups. Before Ekta, Purnima Choudhary claimed 5 for 21 against West Indies in the 1997 World Cup.

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5 for 18 off 10 overs. ??

Of course the #INDvPAK Player of the Match was Ekta Bisht! ??#WWC17 pic.twitter.com/QAtNtyMuCi

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 2, 2017

Ekta removed Ayesha Zafar (1), Sidra Nawaz (0) and Iram Javed (0) in her first four overs to wreak havoc. All three deliveries were almost identical where the batters played for the turn but it didn't turn much after pitching. She later came back to get a couple of wickets more.

Pakistan never recovered from that setback.

Seamers Jhulan Goswami (1/12 in 5 overs) and young Mansi Joshi (2/9 in 6.1 overs) were also on target.

3 games, 3 wins! ??

Plenty to smile about for India! ????#INDvPAK #WWC17 pic.twitter.com/xqkkOs2e0B

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 2, 2017

Deepti Sharma (1/21) and Harmanpreet Kaur (1/6) were economical as all the batswomen struggled to get going.

Opener Nahida Khan (23 off 62 balls) and skipper Sana Mir (29) were the only ones to reach double figures for Pakistan.

Indian skipper Mithali Raj praised Ekta for her performance.

"I am proud of Ekta's performance. Whenever she has been handed the new ball, she has performed. There were some anxious moments when we lost the top-order (while batting). The partnership between Sushma Verma and Jhulan Goswami towards the end was also important. When we got to a total of 169, I knew that if we could bowl well, it could be anybody's game," said Mithali.

Man-of-the-Match Ekta said: "The plan was to pile on dot balls, because we were confident of the target we set."

She said that she never had any problems bowling with the new ball.

"I don't face much of a problem bowling with the new ball. The track spun more than it had during our game against England. Irrespective of how the pitch is, my job is to bowl and take wickets and I hope I can continue doing that for my team."

Electing to bat, the Indians never had any momentum in their innings once in-form Smriti Mandhana (2) was dismissed cheaply. Worse, skipper Mithali Raj (8) and her deputy Harmanpreet Kaur (10) could not also score too many runs, making it difficult for the other players to accelerate.

Opener Poonam Raut (48) consumed 72 balls while Deepti Sharma fared no better playing 63 balls for a sedate 28. It was keeper Sushma Verma (33 off 35 balls), who used the long handle to get the team near 170-run mark.

Pakistan's left-arm spin duo of Nashra Sandhu (4/26 in 10 overs) and Sadia Yousuf (2/30 in 10 overs) inflicted the maximum damage, taking 6 wickets for 56 runs in the 20 overs that they bowled.

The final six overs of the innings turned out to be productive for India as Sushma's attacking display fetched 41 runs during that phase.

(With PTI inputs)