The Indian women’s cricket team began their ICC
Women’s World Cup with a clinical 107 runs win over Pakistan. However, more
than the pleasing victory, it is the photos of Indian players taking a selfie
with the baby daughter of Pakistan women’s team skipper Bismah Maroof that became the main
talking point.

Also Read: ICC Women’s World Cup: India beat Pakistan by 107 runs

The International Cricket Council (ICC) tweeted the
photo of the Indian team taking a selfie with the adorable baby and captioned
it: “Little Fatima’s first lesson in the spirit of cricket from India and
Pakistan.”

Since then, several photos and videos have emerged
from the Pakistan dressing room showing the Indian women playing with little
Fatima. In one of the photos, batter Ekta Bisht can be seen spending some time
with the baby at the pavilion.

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Before the match against India, Bizmah told Cricbuzz
about the difficulty of balancing motherhood with a cricket career. “A child
needs the mother. If I had to continue my career, the question would have been
– where would my kid go? And if I’m on the field, who will take care of the
kid? Hiring a nanny and taking her along everywhere is expensive, and as women
cricketers, we don’t earn as much to afford such luxuries. Our contracts help
us survive and make a living, but without a parental policy, it would’ve become
difficult to continue playing with a child around.”

Also Read: Who is Bismah Maroof, first Pakistani to resume national duty post motherhood?

“With a kid around, it’s a different energy in the
team, everyone feels relaxed. When you’re too focussed on one thing, it builds
pressure on you. When you’re around a kid, all your unnecessary worries
disappear.”

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Talking about the match, India recovered from a
top-order collapse to beat Pakistan by 107 runs to maintain a clean sheet against Pakistan in
the women’s cricket World Cup. India had prevailed in all 10 previous
one-day matches between the two, but Bismah’s team threatened to pull off an
upset when they reduced Mithali Raj’s side to 114-6 in the 34th over.

Opener Smriti Mandhana scored 52 but it was
counter-attacking knocks from lower-order batters Pooja Vastrakar (67) and Sneh
Rana, who made unbeaten 53, that helped India to post a decent total of 244-7.

Also Read: After batting heroics, ‘Rockstar’ Jadeja stars with the ball vs Sri Lanka

Indian seamers kept it tight up front and spinner
Rajeshwari Gayakwad (4-31) wrecked the middle order as Pakistan were bundled
out for 137 with seven overs remaining in their innings. India’s teenage
wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh effected five dismissals.