Deepti Sharma walked into the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup knowing her performances would eventually reflect the hard work she had put in over the past few months. In Birmingham, she produced a spell that reminded everyone why she is regarded as one of the finest all-rounders in world cricket. Earlier this year, Deepti endured difficult tours of Australia and South Africa, where her contributions with both bat and ball fell below expectations. Apart from a few isolated performances, there was little reward for her efforts during that phase.
On Sunday, however, the India star finally saw her patience pay off. Deepti returned with career-best figures of 5 for 10 in four overs, playing a decisive role in India’s commanding 64-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in their T20 World Cup opener. “I wasn’t worried when I didn’t get wickets because I knew when the right time would come, I would step up,” Deepti said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Her outstanding record in ICC tournaments remained intact, and the Edgbaston surface, which offered assistance for spin, suited her bowling perfectly.
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“I like these kinds of wickets because there was turn on offer. I varied my pace,” Deepti said. “Because the ball was turning, I had to be slow in the air and believe in myself and bowl in the right areas.” She also highlighted the importance of the 91-run partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, which laid the foundation for India’s strong total. “But I want to specially mention the partnership (91 runs) between Smriti (Mandhana) and Harry di (Harmanpreet Kaur),” Deepti added.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was full of praise for both Mandhana and Deepti, stressing how experienced players step up in pressure situations.
“Whenever we need, they (Mandhana and Sharma) are always there to push the team,” Harmanpreet Kaur said. She also clarified that the Edgbaston pitch was fair and did not contain any hidden difficulties for the batters. “It was a decent pitch. Initially, we unnecessarily put pressure on ourselves,” Harmanpreet explained. “But when Smriti and I were batting, we tried to control the game.”
When asked whether Richa Ghosh could have been promoted ahead of Bharti Fulmali, Harmanpreet responded with a smile and backed Ghosh’s defined role in the side.
“If it is in my hands, I would love to send her on the first ball,” she joked. “But she has a role to play, and she is doing it well.” With Australia and South Africa also in the same group, Harmanpreet admitted that such a comprehensive win over Pakistan could become crucial later in the tournament. “Every league game is important, and I’m very happy with how we went about it,” the India captain said.
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On the other side, Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana admitted her team’s batting performance was well below expectations and said the bowlers lost discipline in the closing overs.
“The batting was very disappointing. We need to step up, as we have a long way to go,” Fatima said. “In bowling, we were good till the last few overs, but we got sloppy.” She also felt the extra fielder rule affected her side and acknowledged that Pakistan’s young squad still has plenty to learn. “The one extra fielder coming in also affected us. It is a young side, and they will learn,” Fatima added in a dejected tone.
