The decades from decades estranged India-Pakistan political bad blood spillover since a Kashmir related 1971 war reignited in April 2025 by a Pakistan militant attack on an Indian tourist hub in Pahalgam that reverberated in an Indian strike on Pakistan which alleged killed 31 civilians including a 3-year old child in a renewed rivalry between the two historically cricket rivalling nations leading to a bad blood no handshakes rivalry India’s cricketers took to the playing fields against Pakistan at the recent Asia Cup in the UAE, spilled over to Colombo as well in Sunday’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup fixture between the two countries with India Women, reportedly under strict directions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, torpedoing the traditionally cricket customary sporting protocol of that long binding friendly handshake in a game won by Harmanpreet Kaur led India by 88 runs at Sri Lanka’s hub of cricket in Colombo’s R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
As the bad blood feeling that took off in the UAE, courtesy India’s Suryakumar Yadav who snubbed his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha and his waiting team at the boundary for the post match handshake, diluted the cricket loving UAE that pitched the age long noble gentleman’s game by one swift wrong move to pitching the game in one false stroke of consequent bad blood between the two teams descended on Colombo, the sour, acrid air of cricket poisoned in the cricket loving Lankan shores as the two women’s teams followed suit of shunning handshakes was indeed a sad, tragic enactment of the bad and ugly far from the good spirits that the game of cricket is all about in that festering ill feeling between two famous cricketing nations now estranged on the playing fields.
That the showdown took off on a heated angry note when Indian fielders appealed a run out against Pakistan opener Muneeba Ali and upheld leading to a heated argument between the Pakistan captain and the match officiator only further fermented the bad blood feelings as Pakistan folded up for 159 in 43 overs in reply to put into bat India’a 247 off 50 overs.
The Player of the Match winner was Indian quick Krantri Goud for her 3 wickets for 20.
But defeat was not to deny Pakistan’s Sidra Amin’s back to the wall knock of 81 packed with 9 boundaries and a six winning the day as far as the batting heroics as against India’s highest scorer Harleen Deol’s 46 on a day India’a top guns Smriti Mandhana 23 and Jemimah Rodrigues 32 failed to really fire.
The two straight triumphs put India top of the points table with 4 points ahead of defending champions Australia 3 points from 2 games beating New Zealand and rain washed 1 point versus Sri Lanka.
India 247 (Deol 46, Ghosh 35*, Baig 4-69, Sana 2-38) beat Pakistan 159 (Amin 81, Goud 3-20, Deepti 3-45, Rana 2-38) by 88 runs