LINCOLN: Pakistan sealed a thrilling victory over Bangladesh by seven runs in their second warm-up match of the ICC Women’s World Cup, here on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s young pacer Fatima Sana, alongside Nashra Sandhu wreaked havoc over the Bangladesh batting line-up; dismissing the latter on 194.
Set to chase a revised target of 201, Bangladesh had a poor start to their innings; losing two wickets for a mere 29 runs as Sharmin Akhter and Shamima Sultana walked back to the pavilion after scoring cheaply.
Fargana Hoque and the skipper Nigar Sultana anchored the innings with a gritty 42-runs partnership for the third wicket before Sultana perished in the 18th over after scoring 15.
Hoque then put on another handy partnership with the newly joined Rumana Ahmed. The pair appeared solid and posted a magnificent 49-runs partnership for the fourth wicket. In the 29th over, however, Fatima castled Rumana for 30; triggering a match-defining collapse.
Following the dismissal, the side began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and in the end were bowled out for 194 in the run chase.
For the green shirts, Fatima bagged four wickets, while Nashra claimed three. Aiman Anwer and Ghulam Fatima, on the other hand, struck out a batter each.
Batting first, Pakistan managed to finish at 199/7 in the allotted 42 overs, thanks to the brilliant knocks of Aliya Riaz and Javeria Khan.
Coming out to bat, Pakistan had a similar start to Bangladesh; losing the first three wickets with just 38 runs on the scoreboard. Javeria and the skipper Bismah Maroof then anchored the innings with a magnificent 73-runs partnership for the fourth wicket.
The pair appeared solid until the 26th over as Javeria departed after scoring a brilliant 44 off 62 balls, laced with five boundaries. Soon after, Bismah also made her way back to the pavilion after managing to score 32. She faced 44 balls and smashed two boundaries.
Following this, the green shirts slipped to 120-6 in the 29th over as Omaima Sohail was dismissed cheaply for a mere two.
Aliya and Fatima then stood up for their team; putting on a valiant 66-runs partnership for the seventh wicket. Both the batters played brilliant knocks to bolster the total. Fatima scored 29 off 33 balls; including two boundaries, while Aliya remained unbeaten with his 45 with the help of seven boundaries.
For Bangladesh, Fariha Trisna and Ritu Moni bagged three wickets each, while Nahid Akter made one scalp.
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