Pakistan Beart Sri Lanka in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Opener
Fatima Sana’s all-round performance leads Pakistan to a thrilling 31-run victory over Sri Lanka in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup opener.
In a match filled with drama and excitement, Pakistan pulled off a remarkable win, defending a low total of 116 runs against the defending Asia Cup champions. The victory was made possible by an all-rounder performance from captain Fatima Sana, who not only scored a crucial 30 runs but also took a crucial wicket with the ball.
Sana’s all-round heroics
Fatima Sana’s all-round heroics were instrumental in Pakistan’s victory. Her quickfire 30 runs helped Pakistan reach a modest total of 116 in the first innings. With the ball, she bowled intelligently, using her variations to deceive the Sri Lankan batters. Her ability to take wickets at crucial moments put pressure on the opposition.
Spinners shine for Pakistan
Pakistan’s spinners played a crucial role in restricting Sri Lanka’s chase. Iqbal, Sohail, and Sandhu combined to take seven wickets, making it difficult for the Sri Lankan batters to find the boundary. Their ability to take the pace off the ball and bowl accurately proved to be the difference in the match.
Sri Lanka’s batting struggles
Despite a strong start from Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka’s batting struggled throughout the chase. The likes of Gunaratne, Samarawickrama, Dilhari, and Sanjeewani failed to make a significant impact, as they lacked the necessary partnerships to build a competitive total. The lack of boundaries put pressure on the Sri Lankan batters, and they ultimately fell short of their target.
Fatima Sana’s post-match comments
After the match, Fatima Sana expressed her delight at the victory and praised her team for their support. She said “I am excited, thanks for the team they supported well. All credit goes to management. I blame myself [for the score], but I tried to back myself and be calm to hit. [on bowling] Obviously, we all know Chamari is a good player, we needed that wicket to have a good start and we got it. We won the toss and we wanted a lot of runs but we didn’t get. But we still achieved the target in the game. [on Baig] Unfortunately, she was injured. She is our main player. I had to calm myself as captain and carry on with the ball after that. We will ask her how she is after the game. We need to take the momentum and carry this to next match.”
Chamari Athapaththu’s thoughts on the defeat
Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu acknowledged Pakistan’s strong performance and praised Fatima Sana for her leadership. She said at the closing ceremony “I would like to congratulate Sana, she’s played good cricket, leading from the front. That’s really good for Pakistan. We struggled to chase. We have to adjust to conditions. These are good for batters, I hope we can bounce back. We bowled well. We have to bat really good too. We can’t say wicket is slow and outfield is like this. We have to play positive cricket. [on taking on Australia next] Actually, approach is important. We have to play fearless cricket. They are a good team, if we can play best cricket we can beat any team.”
Looking ahead
Pakistan’s victory in the opening match will give them confidence as they look to continue their campaign in the T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will need to regroup and find their form quickly in their next matches of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup if they are to have any chance of progressing in the tournament.
