Women's T20 World Cup: India defeated Pakistan by six wickets to claim their first win

India defeated Pakistan by six wickets to secure their first win of the Women's T20 World Cup but remain in a precarious position in the group stage table due to their puzzling approach with the bat.

A heavy defeat against New Zealand saw India's net run rate fall, but they still needed 18.5 overs to reach just 106 against their rivals.

In the end it was a pleasant chase with so little pressure on the scoreboard, but Fatima Sana's two wickets in two balls in the 16th over with 26 runs still needed kept Pakistan in the hunt.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur showed composure with 29 off 24 balls but had to retire due to injury and had to score two runs, allowing Sajeevan Sajana to score the winning runs with her first ball.

Nerves had increased because there was so little intent or urgency throughout the modest chase, with normally aggressive opener Shafali Verma making 32 from 35 balls and Jemimah Rodrigues adding 23 from 28.

The bowlers dominated in both innings and no batsman seemed particularly comfortable timing the ball as seamer Arundhati Reddy starred with 3-19 for India.

Nida Dar top-scored for Pakistan with 28 off 34 balls but lost wickets regularly and failed to put together a decent partnership to get the Indian bowlers going.

In contrast, India managed to keep wickets in hand, making their approach even more confusing as they moved to 25-1 after the six-over powerplay without hitting a boundary.

But they are wrong and although they will be favorites in their next game against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, they are still under huge pressure to reach the semi-finals with defending champions Australia still in their group.

Pakistan are also still in the race but also face a big challenge as Australia are their next opponents on Friday.