Pakistan 143 for 8 (Zulfiqar 47, Zafar 26, Kaur 4-19) beat Hong Kong 71 (Chan 30, Sandhu 6-7) by 72 runs
Zulfiqar lives up to expectations
Zulfiqar made a thumping comeback to the T20I side last month in Sri Lanka and it made Pakistan persist with her at the top of the order despite the return of experienced Gull Feroza, who slid down to one-down. She could not build on a start against India with the wickets tumbling from the other end and the pressure mounting. But the right-hander fought through on Monday, despite the dismissals of experienced batters around her in Muneeba Ali (6 off 7) and Feroza (3 off 4).
Despite batting on a challenging surface that played slow and gripped, Zulfiqar timed the ball well as she struck six boundaries. She hit a few sparkling cover drives and stitched a sparkling partnership of 47 off 34 with Zafar before the latter fell in the 10th over. No Pakistan batter, barring Zafar and Fatima, was able to emulate the 21-year-old in an innings which saw only four batters post in the double digits.
Joyleen brings joy to Hong Kong
Dubai has played slow throughout this women’s Asia Cup and naturally the idea was to make the most of the surface by bowling slow. While all the Hong Kong bowlers followed it, none of them executed it as perfectly as Joyleen as she hung the ball outside the hitting arc of the Pakistan batters who were desperate to post a big total.
It resulted in Zafar handing a simple catch at point while trying to slash hard at a tossed-up delivery outside off and Zulfiqar mis-hit a smash down the ground. She continued with the plan and it brought her two more wickets in her last over as Sadaf Shamas holed out to long-on and Eyman Fatima played all around a lobbed off-break to be trapped in front.
Joyleen finished with career-best figures of 4 for 19, the first time she took four wickets in a T20I.
Pakistan’s bowlers too good for Hong Kong
Hong Kong needed to overhaul the 144-run target inside 12.3 overs to beat Pakistan in the race to the semi-finals but it was always going to be an uphill task considering Pakistan’s strong bowling. They may have been subpar with the bat or in the field this tournament, but their bowling has been rated highly.
Sana defeated the defences of Mariko Hill at the end of the first over and Sadia Iqbal started the second by trapping Natasha Miles in front with an arm ball. From there it was a struggle for Hong Kong. Kary Chan struck a few boundaries as she finished with the highest score (30 off 47) in the innings.
Nashra Sandhu makes history
The left-arm spinner is known for her immaculate line and length bowling and Hong Kong never stood a chance against her. Introduced into the attack after the powerplay, as is often the case with her, Sandhu returned incredible figures of six for seven, the first time a Pakistan bowler has bagged a six-for in a women’s T20I.
Her loopy length ball, which turned away, had Yasmin Daswani in trouble. She then bowled Marina Lamplough and had Maryam Bibi caught across four balls in her next over. She took three wickets in five balls in her last over, the first two coming on consecutive balls. Each dismissal left her with a smile bigger than the last.
Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi is a cricket journalist based in Lahore
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