KARACHI: Pakistan’s right-handed batter Ayesha Naseem starred with her blistering strike to power her side to beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20I, here on Thursday.
Set to chase 103, Pakistan sealed a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the touring side in the 18th over to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
In the run chase, Pakistan had an unwanted start as the side lost three wickets for a mere 34 runs as the wicket-keeper batter Muneeba Ali, Iram Javed, and Gull Feroza departed after scoring cheaply.
Pakistan’s skipper and the star of the bat for the green shirts Ayesha then put on a match-winning unbeaten 70-run partnership to steer the side to the victory.
Ayesha top-scored with her quick 45 off just 31 balls, laced with five boundaries and a six while Bismah followed back with 22 off 29 deliveries including a boundary.
For Sri Lanka, Achini Kulasuriya, Oshadi Ranasinghe, and Inoka Ranaweera made one scalp each.
In the first innings, Pakistan bowlers displayed brilliance with the ball as Sri Lanka could only manage to post 102/6 in the allotted 20 overs in the first innings despite a brilliant 35-run knock from the opening batter Hasini Perera.
Batting first, the Sri Lankan side was off to a poor start; losing two quick wickets for a mere 28 runs as the captain Chamari Athapaththu and Ranasinghe scored cheaply with five and eight respectively.
Following an early disaster, Perera and Nilakshi de Silva put on an important 34-run partnership for the third wicket to bolster the side to a respectable total. However, their partnership remained brief as Tuba Hassan managed to break the stand by dismissing the touring side’s top scorer Perera on 35.
The right-handed batter de Silva, on the other hand, displayed resistance while her side was losing wickets at the other hand. But, de Silva, in the end, also fell to Aiman Anwar in the final over after scoring 21.
For Pakistan, Tuba, Aiman, Fatima Sana, Nida Dar, and Anam Amin made one scalp each.
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