LAHORE: Pakistan openers Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali wreaked havoc over the Ireland’s bowlers before bowlers powered the hosts to a resounding 128-run victory in the first Women’s ODI of the three-match series.
Set to chase 336, the Irish batting lineup crumbled completely and bundled out for a skimpy 207 in the final over.
Irish captain Laura Delaney fought hard with a gritty knock of 69 in a run chase that was dominated by the Pakistan bowlers.
Besides Delaney, Orla Prendergast chipped in with a notable contribution of 29 runs, while the rest of the batters seemed clueless against the strong Pakistan bowling attack.
All-rounder Nida Dar led the bowling attack with magnificent figures of 3/34, while Fatima Sana and Nashra Sandhu bagged two wickets each.
After opting to bat first, Pakistan’s openers lived up to their captain’s call and laid a solid foundation for a massive total against Ireland women.
The duo were unstoppable today as both openers had amassed their respective centuries to add 221-run for the first wicket.
Muneeba, who was scoring relatively cautiously, fell in the 36th over after scoring 107 off 114 deliveries with the help of 10 boundaries and two sixes.
Following Muneeba’s departure, Sidra then joined hands with all-rounder Aliya Riaz and stitched another astonishing partnership as the pair added 97 runs for the second wicket in just 61 deliveries.
The second-wicket partnership between Sidra and Aliya paced up Pakistan’s march to a massive total.
Pakistan’s star with the bat, Sidra, was the core aggressor of the second-wicket partnership, while Aliya, who was finding it hard to match up her blistering hitting fell in the 47th over after scoring 29 off 27.
Sidra, on the other hand, held her ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly to power Pakistan to 335/3 in their quota of 50 overs.
Right-handed batter Sidra played an astounding knock of 176 runs in just 151 deliveries, laced with 20 boundaries and a six.
Arlene Kelly was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland women as she bagged two wickets for 62, while Eimar Richardson made one scalp.
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