Pakistan lose second warm-up ahead of Women’s T20 World Cup

DUBAI: Pakistan copped their second defeat ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup, losing to Bangladesh in the warm-up fixture by 24 runs at the ICC Academy Ground on Monday night.

Despite being in a dominant position at one point in the game, Pakistan ended up being outclassed by Bangladesh.

Opting to bat first, Bangladesh were 94-5 in 16 overs. They started well but stumbled after the loss of opener Shathi Rani, leading to a slowdown in scoring. However, a late flourish by Shorna Akter, who smashed a quickfire 28, helped Bangladesh post a solid total.

Pakistan’s bowlers made a concerted effort, utilising eight different bowlers to keep the pressure on Bangladesh.

Sadia Iqbal took two crucial wickets, while Omaima Sohail, Tuba Hassan, Diana Baig, and Nida Dar all chipped in with key contributions to restrict the Bangladeshi batting line-up., before Shorna Akter’s 17-ball knock gave them a fighting total of 140-7.

Shorna was once again in the thick of the action with the ball, prizing out key wickets as Pakistan struggled to keep up with the required rate.

Chasing 140, Pakistan struggled to build partnerships, losing wickets at regular intervals and never managing to gain control of the game. Omaima held the innings together for a bit, but Rabeya Khan sent her back for 33 as Pakistan slipped to 115-8 with a tall ask in front of them in the final two overs.

Bangladesh eventually completed a win to make a strong impression, thanks to their disciplined bowling attack, tjat consistently put pressure on the Pakistan batters, who couldn’t recover from the early blows.

Pakistan had earlier lost to Scotland in their first warm-up game on Saturday.

Scores in brief:

BANGLADESH 140-7 in 20 overs (Shorna Akhter 28 not out; Sadia Iqbal 2-19); PAKISTAN 117 in 18.4 overs (Omaima Sohail 33; Marufa Akter 2-15).

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024