India’s young bowler Kranti Goud, aged 22, received the Player of the Match award for her outstanding performance in the Women’s World Cup group match against Pakistan.
India successfully defended their total of 247, with Kranti taking 3 wickets for 20 runs and Deepti Sharma claiming 3 wickets for 45 runs.
Pakistan was bowled out for 159 in 43 overs.
This victory marked India’s 12th win over Pakistan in this format and placed them at the top of the tournament’s points table.
“I do not really know much about that because this was my first match, and honestly, I do not pay attention to all that India-Pakistan talk. There is nothing like that for me. I just focus on my job – my duty is to bowl, and that is what I do,” Goud told reporters in post-match press conference.
Kranti’s journey at the R Premadasa Stadium has been remarkable, transforming from an unremarkable debut to earning Player of the Match honors at the same venue.
“I’m really happy. Being the Player of the Match today is a very proud moment for me and my family. My India debut was in Sri Lanka, and today I’ve been named Player of the Match here in Sri Lanka again. I’m truly very happy,” she added.
India batted first and posted 247 runs in their allocated 50 overs.
Their bowling attack then successfully dismissed Pakistan for 159 runs in 43 overs.
“The batters were finding it a bit difficult to face us. They were struggling against the pace, and the ball was swinging both ways. That’s why we decided to continue with the same bowlers for a longer spell,” she continued.
“When I came on for my second spell, Harman (India captain Harmanpreet Kaur) said, ‘it’s an old ball now, let’s remove the slip.’ But I told her, ‘no, let me bowl with the slip for now — I feel like I can get a wicket here.’ And that’s exactly what happened — I got the second wicket. I had that belief in myself.”
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