India, June 15 -- The peerless Deepti Sharma strangulated an out of sync Pakistan with a five-wicket haul after Smriti Mandhana's delectable half-century as India thrashed Pakistan by 64 runs to make a winning start to their Women's T20 World Cup campaign here on Sunday.

Courtesy Mandhana's classy 44-ball-68 and Richa Ghosh's muscular 34 off 17 balls, India managed a winning score of 170 for 6.

Save Muneeba Ali's 35-ball-41, there was no sting in Pakistan batting as they folded for a meagre 106 in 17 overs. Having played her part in a priceless 45-run stand with Ghosh, Deepti was in her element with the ball, picking up a career-best 5 for 10 in 4 overs while left-arm spinner Shree Charani grabbed 3 for 21. Shafali Verma's happy knack o...