Pakistan captain Fatima Sana expressed her hope to carry on the momentum after her side’s thumping 31-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Fatima was instrumental in Pakistan’s victory as she recovered Pakistan from 84/8 to a respectable total of 116 with her quickfire 30-run cameo.
Later with the ball, she bagged two wickets including the prized scalp of her Sri Lankan counterpart Chamari Athapaththu.
For her all-round brilliance, Fatima Sana was awarded the Player of the Match in her maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match as captain.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, the Pakistan captain thanked her teammates and credited management for the important victory.
“I am excited, thanks to the team they supported well. All credit goes to management,” said Fatima.
“We need to take the momentum and carry this to next match.
“I blame myself [for the score], but I tried to back myself and be calm to hit.”
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The right-arm pacer then shared that Pakistan needed to get rid of Chamari Athapaththu early to have a good start and it set the tone to defend the modest total.
“Obviously, we all know Chamari is a good player, we needed that wicket to have a good start and we got it,” Fatima said.
“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,” she added.
Remember, Pakistan had suffered a major blow earlier in the run defence when their experienced pacer Diana Baig limped off the field after bowling just one delivery.
Asked to provide an update on the pacer’s injury, Fatima Sana stated that she would inquire about Baig’s injury after the game.
“Unfortunately she [Diana Baig] 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,” Fatima said.
READ: Pakistan stun Sri Lanka to kick off Women’s T20 World Cup with a win