Sylhet: Nida Dar’s unbeaten innings of 56 propelled Pakistan to a decent total of 137/6 against India at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Friday in the ongoing Asian Cup clash.
Deepti Sharma bowled exceptionally and was the fastest of the Indian female bowlers as she bagged three wickets giving away just 27 runs. For Pakistan, Nida Dar was the top scorer, while Bismah Maroof also contributed 32 runs from 35 balls. Pakistan’s captain Bismah Maroof won the toss and opted to bat first in the match. The team made two changes, leaving Kainat Imtiaz and Diana Baig out for left Sadia Iqbal and Aiman Anwer.
Pakistan started their innings cautiously with Muneeba Ali and Sidra Ameen looking to push the ball into the gaps and hitting the bad balls to the limit. The plan worked well for the batsmen until the fourth over, but they were rocked by three quick wickets in the next two overs to finish the power play at 33/3.
The Indian bowlers kept things tight and gave no gifts to the Pakistani batsmen creating the pressure that resulted in the three fast wickets.
Pooja Vastrakar sacked Sidra Ameen in the fourth over to draw first blood as she shrugged off the batsman by just 11 runs.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur persisted with Deepti Sharma on power plays and reaped the benefits of it as the bowler struck twice in the sixth over to push Pakistan off his back foot.
Deepti bowled cleverly to dismiss Muneeba Ali when she caused the ball to dip and spin to leave the batsman stranded as she came down the wicket looking to be more aggressive. Richa Ghosh hit the bails in an instant to send Ali back with the batsman scoring just 17 runs.
Omaima Sohail was caught in front of the wicket to be dismissed by a duck that gave Deepti his second wicket in the same over.
Captain Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar then took over the innings and stabilized the Pakistani innings as the duo put together a 76-run partnership on just 58 balls. Nida looked to bring the attack to the Indian bowlers while Maroof played a supporting role, which worked well for the Pakistani team.
Pakistan’s innings got a much-needed boost as the team finished at 61/3 at the end of ten overs.
After Dar took notice of him, the batsman began to push the limits at will, changing the momentum of the innings. He kept dancing out the window to take the Indian bowlers to the cleaners.
She hit the first six of the inning in the 12th over Dayalan Hemalatha and hit Vastrakar for two limits in the next unleashing a flurry of shots.
Renuka Singh came back to see off the Pakistani captain in the 16th. The captain appeared to be creative and attempted a shot on the return, but instead holed out Rajeshwari Gayakwad, ending her inning with 32 runs.
Nida Dar continued her onslaught to bring in her well-deserved half-century in the 17th.
Vastrakar claimed her second wicket after she dismissed Ayesha Naseem with a short ball in the 18th in a quest to up the ante.
Pakistan’s innings saw no real flourish in the overs of death as the team managed to score just 30 runs in the last five overs despite Nida Dar remaining undefeated. Pakistan finished 137/6 at the end of 20 overs.
Brief score: Pakistan 137/6 (Nida Dar 56*, Bismah Maroof 32; Deepti Sharma 3/27) vs India. (AND ME)