Women's World T20 2018: Mithali Raj, Poonam Yadav ace report card as India outclass Pakistan by seven wickets

India overcame their arch-rivals, Pakistan, in their second game of the Women’s World T20 2018 to take one step forward towards the semi-finals. A competitive Pakistan side made life difficult for the Indians, but compelling performances from lead players saw the Indian side through in the penultimate over of the run-chase. Here we rate members of the Indian team based on their performance in the game. Smriti Mandana - 8/10 Mandana stuck to her natural game but toned down her aggression a touch to give India a rocking start in the run-chase alongside Mithali Raj. She started off with a couple of boundaries off Anam Amin before settling down and letting Raj take control. She managed a couple more boundaries, but was focussed on letting the partnership flourish with Raj in great touch. With the stand on 73, Mandana, who had just hit Bismah Maroof for a boundary off the previous ball, slogged her to deep square-leg to be dismissed for 26. She had earlier put down a dolly in the field which affects her rating a touch. Mithali Raj - 10/10 [caption id=“attachment_5536101” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Mithali Raj top-scored for India with a 56-run knock. Image credit: Twitter/@WorldT20[/caption] In a composed display of batting, Raj made full use of returning to the top of the the batting order as she struck her 16th T20I half-century. The veteran was in her element — with the aggressive Mandana playing second fiddle in her presence — cleverly manipulating Pakistan’s slow bowlers and making a mockery of the decent target. She was on the move from the word go and never gave up until the 18th over, the game a foregone conclusion by then. Jemimah Rodrigues - 3/10 Coming off the back of a fine half-century in the tournament opener against the White Ferns, Jemimah began her innings in sedate fashion before using her feet to dismiss Maroof for a boundary. It should ideally have gotten her into groove, but instead gave her a false dawn as she stepped down again next over only to gift a return catch to Nida Dar. Harmanpreet Kaur - 7/10 Kaur joined a settled Raj with the game in the balance and appeared fearless yet again, even as Raj threw her wicket away with an ugly swipe to deep mid-wicket. Switching to a more diligent role, Kaur oversaw the run-chase till the end and remained unbeaten on 14, showcasing yet another facet of her game. Veda Krishnamurthy - 4/10 Veda dropped a sitter in the field, a gentle offering from Dar, but made amends in the field, with two other catches as well as with the bat, as she collected 10 in the penultimate over to seal the run-chase. She hasn’t had much of a role in the first two games with India’s top-order clicking, but will need to show that she can step up if there is an impromptu collapse. Dayalan Hemalatha - 8/10 In another quality bowling display, Hemalatha flighted the ball fearlessly and overcame a poor opening over to comeback strong in the death. The off-spinner conceded 10 in her opening over, the last over of powerplay, before returning to bowl three at a stretch in the death. She leaked 24 runs off three overs, but picked up the wickets of the two half-centurions — Maroof and Dar — to cap off a good day. Deepti Sharma - 5/10 Deepti was more controlled against Pakistan than against the Kiwis, but once again went wicketless. She bowled tighter lines than Hemalatha but lacked the incision to create wicket-taking opportunities. With the newbie sealing her place courtesy some fine performances, Deepti is in danger of missing out if India decide to go in with just one off-spinner in the remaining matches. Radha Yadav - 6/10 Radha opened the attack and gave away just 10 in her opening two overs, maintaining a tight channel and forcing mistakes from the Pakistan batswomen. When she returned to the attack in the middle overs, the left-arm spinner was unlucky not to pick up wickets with Krishnamurthy and Poonam Yadav shelling catches off Dar. Arundhati Reddy - 7/10 The Hyderabad seamer has handled her role as lead quick bowler in the side with conviction and had a great day against arch-rivals Pakistan. She dismissed opener Ayesha Zafar in the first over, a wicket maiden, courtesy a brilliant catch from Krishnamurthy and was more accurate with her lines. In her first three overs, Arundhati gave away just 14 but spoilt her figures a touch in an 11-run final over. Having said that, she has shown enough to resume her role as lone pacer in the side. Poonam Yadav - 9/10 Poonam once again lived up to her reputation as strike bowler, picking up a couple of wickets in her four overs that went for just 22. The leg-spinner was the most threatening and economical bowler in the side and remained calm even as Bismah and Dar took the attack to the Indians. She ensured there was no late blitz by picking up two wickets and giving away just five runs in the final over of the innings. *Taniya Bhatia wasn’t rated owing to her minimal role in the match Rating chart: 10-9: Excellent, 8-7: Good, 6-5: Average, 4-3: Poor, 2-1: Very poor