KARACHI: Nida Dar’s quickfire 36-run knock, followed by a tight bowling display powered Pakistan Women to beat South Africa in the third PAKW vs SAW T20I to clean sweep the three-match series.
Set to chase 151, South Africa could accumulate 144/5 in their quota of 20 overs despite Laura Wolvaardt’s half-century.
Wolvaardt remained the top-scorer for her side with a 54-ball 72, laced with nine boundaries, but fell to guide South Africa to glory as she fell victim to Sadia Iqbal when her side needed 18 off 10.
South Africa then needed 13 off the final over to avoid the whitewash.
Diana Baig bowled the final over for Pakistan and leaked only six runs to steer her side to glory.
Besides Wolvaardt, South African batters made modest contributions in the run chase.
For Pakistan Women, Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal bagged two wickets each.
Put into bat first, Pakistan accumulated 150 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a combined effort from their batters.
Pakistan openers Shawaal Zulfiqar and in-form Sidra Ameen laid a solid foundation with an anchoring 41-run partnership.
The pair batted sensibly before young Shawaal faltered against Nonkululeko Mlaba in the seventh over as South Africa got their first breakthrough.
Shawaal scored 18 off 19 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.
Sidra Ameen was then joined by experienced Bismah Maroof at the crease and the pair knitted an important 49-run partnership for the second wicket.
Sidra, who scored a match-winning half-century in the second PAKW vs SAW T20I, failed to replicate the feat in the third T20I as she fell for a run-a-ball 39 which featured four boundaries.
Following Sidra’s dismissal, the experienced duo of Bismah and skipper Nida Dar bolstered the total with a sensational 49-run partnership.
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Dar dominated the important fifth-wicket stand with belligerent hitting while Bismah rotated the strike before both perished in the 19th over.
Bismah played an anchoring 39-run knock in 34 deliveries while Nida Dar scored a quickfire 36 off just 20 balls, laced with five boundaries and a six.
Wicketkeeper batter Muneeaba Ali added valuable eight runs to Pakistan’s total before perishing on the penultimate delivery of the innings.
Tumi Sekhukhune led the bowling attack for South Africa Women with 2/24, followed by Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine de Klerk and Nondumiso Shanga, who made one scalp each.
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