After all, New Zealand managed to reach 110 after their 20-over quota, while Pakistan had dropped not one, not two, but three catches in a single over.
During the last over of Match 19 of the Women’s T20 World Cup between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, former Pakistan Women’s skipper Sana Mir said, “I’ve never seen this in 15 years of playing.”
Her bold statement during the last over of the first innings between Pakistan and New Zealand Women was not made in vain.
Wicketkeeper Muneeba Ali was the first of the pair to be dropped during the powerplay. When a reverse sweep was attempted, the bat’s face struck the ball. It was a sharp opportunity, though. The second one came in the next over, when Nashra Sandhu hit a deep midwicket shell. No matter how hard she tried to reverse-cup it, she was always getting her hands behind the ball.
Omaima Sohail grabbed two hands on her bowling but then grassed one off it an over after Pakistan made their first breakthrough of the match. The 16th over was Pakistan’s next chance to make a catch. This was the most shocking one to far because Sidra Amin, one of the most dependable outfielders for Pakistan Women, blew a simple opportunity. In the following over, Sohail once more missed a long-on opportunity.
The last over, which was previously discussed, encapsulated Pakistan’s performance on the field. Over the course of the innings, eight opportunities were wasted. Pakistan had a reasonable chance of defeating the Kiwis with a low score if even a few of them had been devoured.
Fatima Sana is the only batsman as Pakistan is shot out on 56.
Earlier in the article, captain Fatima Sana broke the record for taking the most catches for Pakistan in women’s cricket in the 20-over format in a single innings (four). However, Muneeba was the only player to reach double figures, therefore Sana’s efforts were in vain.
Sana entered the game with her team three down with a score of just 21, despite not having the best of days with the ball. She was recovering from an emotional few days following the untimely death of her father. She carried on as usual, but she was never able to get any help from the other end.
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The six batters who followed her were only able to score 11 runs between them, nine of which came through Nida Dar. She was ejected for 21 after trying to boost the ante and became her team’s top scorer of the match.