India, June 15 -- India-Pakistan meetings at cricket World Cups often used to be dictated less by form and more by emotion. Pressure and nerves used to define the contests. However, at Edgbaston on Sunday, India ensured there was little room for uncertainty.

Smriti Mandhana lit up Edgbaston with a sparkling half-century and spinner Deepti Sharma then spun a web claiming five wickets as India launched their campaign in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup with a brilliant 64-run win in Group 1.

In the build-up to the opener in Birmingham, the focus was on India's batting firepower. Mandhana's 68 (44b, 9x4, 2x6), followed by skipper Harmanpreet (36) and Richa Ghosh in the end (34- 17b, 5x4, 1x6) helped post a challenging 170/6.

By the evening, ...