On Tuesday, the cricket fraternity witnessed top-notch cricket action at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium when Pakistan Women won by a comprehensive ten-wicket win against UAE Women in the 9th match of Group A in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024. This game produced not only the first ten-wicket win in a Women’s T20 Asia Cup match but also the lowest match aggregate of 210 involving women in green and UAE Women in WT20Is.
Pakistan Women impress with the ball
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, UAE Women could not find any momentum against a disciplined Pakistani bowling attack. The skipper of UAE Esha Oza played an innings of 16 off 26 while Theertha Satish scored 40 off 36, trying to anchor the innings and pace up as well. For Pakistan, it was Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal at the fore, with both picking two wickets each.
Theertha Satish scored an innings-best 40 with five boundaries. But rest of the batters contributed little as Rinitha Rajith scored 6, Kavisha Egodage 2 and Khushi Sharma 12 failed to provide much support to enhance their scoreboard. UAE Women posted 103/8 in their assigned 20 overs at a run rate just above 5 an over.
The Pakistan bowlers pegged back the run rate throughout. The incisive Sadia Iqbal returned figures of 2/11 in four overs. Also, it was fellow spinner Nashra Sandhu who really caught the eye with 2/22 from her four overs. Tuba Hassan chipped in with two wickets, returning 2/17 in three overs. All-round disciplined bowling and sharp fielding, with Gull Feroza taking two catches, kept UAE down to a low score.
The Pakistan Women dominated the chase of the target of 104 all the way. The start was led by Gull Feroza from the front, who remained unbeaten on 62 off 55 balls with eight boundaries. Her opening partner, Muneeba Ali, also scored a brisk 37 not out off 30 balls with four boundaries. Their partnership remained intact while reaching the target in just 14.1 overs to score 107 without any loss.
For her outstanding batting and fielding display, Gull Feroza was declared Player of the Match. She batted with a lot of composure and aggression to see her team through to the end with 35 balls to spare. This proved once again why she is one of the big-game players.
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