Indian eves thump Pakistan by five wickets

Taunton: Leg-spinner Priyanka Roy's five wicket haul and Anjum Chopra's gutsy unbeaten 37 helped India thump arch rivals Pakistan by five wickets and bounce back into contention in the Women's Twenty20 World Cup here.

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India skittled out Pakistan for a paltry 75 in 19.5 overs, thanks to some dazzling bowling performance by Roy and pacewoman Rumeli Dhar (3/13), and then overhauled the target with 14 balls to spare in a Pool B match on Saturday night.

Chasing 76 for their first win in the tournament, India got off to a disastrous start as they lost three wickets inside the first five overs, but Chopra, who cracked five fours in her 52-ball innings, relied on her vast experience to help her side romp home.

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Earlier, electing to bat, Pakistan failed to negotiate the Indian bowlers as only three of their batters — opener Nain Abidi (17), Asmavia Iqbal (10) and Almas Akram (12) — managed double digit scores.

Dhar, who extracted some bounce and lateral movement from the pitch, dealt the first blow by removing left-hand opener Bismah Maroof (6) and then sent back Sajjida Shah for a duck.

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The other opener Abidi, who cracked three fours during her 18-ball stay and was looking dangerous, soon became Dhar's third victim as her ambitious shot found Priyanka Roy.