Women's T20 World Cup: Fatima backs young Pakistan team to 'learn' after India defeat

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan captain Fatima Sana rallied behind her "young" teammates following a gruelling 64-run defeat at the hands of traditional rivals India in the high-octane sixth match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 here at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, India piled up a formidable total of 170/6 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Smriti Mandhana's anchoring half-century, followed by wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh's blistering cameo at the backend.

Notably, by the end of 18 overs, India were reeling at 132/5 but added 38 more to their total in the final two overs, bowled by Tasmia Rubab and captain Fatima, respectively.

Reflecting on her team's performance following the defeat in the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign opener, Fatima stressed that the Green Shirts were good until the last few overs.

She also emphasised that the slow-over-rate penalty, due to which they had an extra fielder inside the circle, impacted the course of play at the backend of India's innings before backing her young team to learn from the defeat against the traditional rivals.

"We were good till the last few overs, but we got sloppy. The one extra fielder coming in also affected us," said Fatima at the post-match presentation.

"It might be because of lefty-right combination. It is a young side and they will learn," she added.

Set to chase a daunting 171-run target, Pakistan could muster 106 before getting bowled out in 17 overs, and Fatima, who bagged a three-ball duck, termed their performance in the department "disappointing" and thus called for the batting unit to step up.

"The batting side was very disappointing. We need to step up as we have a long way to go," Fatima continued.

"Our powerplay, we won with bat and ball. But we collapsed with the bat and we need to improve there," she added.

The Pakistan captain also addressed their struggles in the fielding department during the high-octane fixture, which saw them grassing two catching opportunities, as she called for improvement in the execution of plans.

"Catches win matches but unfortunately, the senior players dropped catches. We need to improve in bowling and catching. We will try and execute our plans as soon as possible."