Members of the Indian women team spend some fun time with Pakistan women captain Bismah Maroof’s six-month-old daughter, Fatima, following their Women’s World Cup encounter on Sunday in Mount Maunganui which India won by 107 runs.
Little Fatima has been the new centre of attention as everyone has been hailing the Pakistani skipper for returning to lead her side just a few months after she had given birth to a child.
India vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma, wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh, bowler Meghna Singh, and a few others enjoyed their time with Fatima who was in the arms of her mother.
Fans on social media were gushing about this beautiful, heart-warming moment as it was great to see the love shared from one country to another.
Here are some of the best reactions by netizens to Indian women team players spending time with Bismah Maroof’s baby:
This will warm your heart in beautiful ways: India’s cricket team spending time with the baby daughter of Pakistan team’s captain Bismah Maroof after their World Cup match.
V @ghulamabbasshah pic.twitter.com/pg9WpxmBaY
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) March 6, 2022
Pyaar baant te chalo …..
Wishing this cute kid will bring more love between the two countries.
May all the beautiful things came her way .
God bless— Sandeep Sharma (@getsand) March 6, 2022
Wonderful. This is what sports does . A great unifier
— k.m prashanth (@kmp19k) March 6, 2022
Indeed it does. Hopefully, generations to follow, will nurture the friendship, care and the love between the nations. https://t.co/XKQCbBlz3c
— Sanjeev Hariharan (@sanjeevh) March 6, 2022
Love is the message…. https://t.co/SZg1yvkVVy
— HimanshuRanjan Das (@HmnshuDas) March 6, 2022
We were one separated by boundary by far away players ,let us hope for one again as our heart beats same , this pic is self-explanatory. https://t.co/zLN1ouVwpq
— Anandkumar Deshpande (@ananddasraodes1) March 6, 2022
Best thing to see in the world of cricket today
https://t.co/Pdnp6nnMKo
— shrey nagrath (@shreynagrath) March 6, 2022
Heartwarming indeed. Indian & Pakistan cricket teams sharing a beautiful moment after their World Cup match https://t.co/aFNbuNrs0g
— Neha Khanna (@nehakhanna_07) March 6, 2022
Watched this several times over, and can’t get enough of it
Baby Fatima for Player of the Tournament ?? https://t.co/M0mNAnB7W5— Suprita Das (@MissDasTweets) March 6, 2022
On the field rivals.
Off the field sisters— LoyalSachFan (THAKUR) (@Loyalsachfan01) March 6, 2022
Speaking of the game, two big partnerships on either side of a middle-order collapse helped India reach 244/7. After losing Shafali in the third over for a duck, Mandhana (52) and Deepti Sharma (40) were involved in a 92-run stand before India suffered a dramatic collapse losing 5 for 18 runs, with Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet,a and Richa Ghos dismissed for single-digit scores.
Then all-rounders Pooja Vasktrakar and Sneh Rana’s record 122-run seventh-wicket stand helped India to a par total. Vastrakar brisked her way to a 48-ball fifty on World Cup debut while Rana reached hers off 45 balls.
Indian bowlers kept a tight leash over the Pakistani batters right from the start: Pakistan managed 28 runs in 11 overs for the loss of one wicket. Pakistan were never able to release the pressure and kept losing wickets, eventually being bundled out for 137. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad snapped up 4 scalps while a brace each for Jhulan Goswami and Sneh Rana.
Skipper Mithali Raj expressed happiness on starting their World Cup with a big win, but also admitted improvement needed to be done in the batting department.
“I am happy we won the first game but a lot of things to work on. When you lose wickets in the middle order, it does put a lot of pressure. The top-order has to score runs in a big tournament like this. When you have all-rounders like Sneh, Deepti and Pooja, we extend our batting line up,” Raj said.
