Sharjah: Pakistan faced Sri Lanka in the second match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. This match was held at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday (October 3). Pakistan Women have won the toss and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka Women. The openers, Muneeba Ali and Feroza Gull gave a joint start to Pakistan’s innings. But Sugandika Kumari dismissed Feroza Gull after scoring 2 (4) runs.
After that, Sugandika Kumari departs Muneeba Ali for 12 (10) runs, and Chamari Athapaththu, who dismissed Sidra Amin for 12 (10) runs. And then, Kavisha Dilhari departs Omaima Sohail for 19 (18) runs. Nida Dar 23 (22), a key hope for Pakistan, departs for Prabodhani’s attack. Prabodhani bowled full and straight at the middle stump; Nida missed, and the stumps were shattered.
The Lankan’s skipper Chamari Athapaththu claims back-to-back wickets in quick succession, trapping Aliya Riaz lbw for a duck and then having Tuba Hassan caught behind for 5 (9) runs. In the very next over, Sugandika took the wicket of Diana Baig for just 2 (4) runs.
In 18 balls, the skipper, Fatima Sana, has hit three boundaries and one six, pushing Pakistan’s total past 100. But in the last over, Prabodhani picks a back-to-back wicket in very quick succession, dismisses Fatima for 30 (20) runs, and then claims the Sadia Iqbal wicket for 2(3) runs.
Finally, Pakistan finished with 116 runs in 20 overs after facing the threat of a low total at one point. Sri Lankan bowlers Chamari Athapaththu, Sugandika Kumari, and Udeshika Prabodhani, each claiming three wickets, have maintained tight control throughout the innings.
Chasing 117 runs, Sri Lanka’s hope star and captain Chamari Athapaththu-Vishmi Gunaratne gave a blistering start. At the same time, Diana Baig suddenly stopped her run-up and struggled on one leg, clutching her calf in discomfort. The physio has come onto the field, and she departs the field in pain.
After that, Athapaththu gave a big disappointment when she got out early for 6 (9) runs by Fatima Sana delivery. Harshitha Samarawickrama was dismissed by Omaima Sohail for 7 (10) runs, and then Sohail struck again and bowled out Hasini Perera for 8 (10) runs. Then, Kavisha Dilhari departs to Nashra Sandhu’s delivery while attempting a swipe and misplays a slow, spinning ball, ending her innings and being caught by Nida Dar at just 3 (8) runs.
Under the resulting pressure, another opener, Vishmi Gunaratne, who played slowly on the other side, returned to the pavilion by Nashra Sandhu on 20 (34) runs. Because of that, Sri Lanka stumbled to 52-5, and in the middle order, Sadia Iqbal dismissed Anushka Sanjeewani for 5 (10) runs, Nilakshi Dee Silva for 22 (25) runs, Sugandika Kumari LBW, and further setbacks.
In the end, Pakistan bowled out Sri Lanka for 85-9 runs in 20 overs and won by 31 runs. Sadia Iqbal took 3 wickets, and Omaima Sohail and Nasara Sandhu each took 2 wickets for that team.
