ISLAMABAD: All-rounder Nidar Dar on Friday inspired Pakistan women’s cricket team to beat arch-rivals India by 13 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup 2022, only 24 hours after suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Thailand.
Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof chose to bat after winning the toss against India at the Sylhet International Stadium in Bangladesh.
The green shirts bolstered their spin options by bringing in Sadia Iqbal in place of pacer Diana Baig and also replaced seam-bowling allrounder Aiman Anwer for Kainat Imtiaz.
Pakistani opening batters Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin both failed to impress, departing for the pavilion after scoring 17 and 11 respectively. Skipper Maroof came out to bat and put on a respectable 32 off 35 balls before she was dismissed by Renuka Singh.
After Deepti Sharma trapped Omaima Sohail for a duck, Pakistan seemed to be in trouble at 33-3. However, in stepped Dar and turned the game around for Pakistan. With Maroof, she put on a respectable 76-run partnership and scored a half-century as well.
Pakistan women's cricket team poses for a selfie after defeating India at the Sylhet International Stadium in Bangladesh on October 7, 2022. (Pakistan Cricket Team)
Dar scored an unbeaten 56 off 37 balls, hitting five 4s and a six, as Pakistan finished at 137/6 at the end of their 20 overs.
India’s Sharma ended up being the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/27 while Pooja Vastrakar took 2/23 from her four overs.
Pakistan put India on the back foot with back-to-back wickets, as Nashra Sandhu dismissed both openers. It was then Dar’s moment to shine as she took the important wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur.
Dar finished with figures of 2/23 and walked away with the Player of the March award. The pick of the Pakistani bowlers, however, was Sandhu with figures of 3/30 while Sadia Iqbal also ended up with 2/24 from her four overs.
Pakistani bowler Aiman Anwer took the last wicket of the Indian side, bundling out the blue shirts for a modest 124 runs from 19.4 overs.
“A sensational performance!” wrote the PCB on Twitter. “Pakistan earn a 13-run win over India.”
India, who were at the top of the table with three wins from three games, are now level with Pakistan. Both teams now have six points in the tournament.
