Pakistan were able to recover from their loss to India and seal their place in the women’s Asia Cup semi-finals as Nashra Sandhu produced a record-breaking spell. Sandhu became the first bowler from Pakistan to take six wickets in a Women’s T20I as Hong Kong, China were blown away in their chase of 144.
Hong Kong, China had reached 28 for 2 when Sandhu was introduced immediately after the Powerplay. Their openers had already fallen in quick succession, with Mariko Hill registering her third consecutive duck and Natasha Miles dismissed by Sadia Iqbal off the first delivery she faced.
WOMEN’S ASIA CUP: FULL COVERAGE
Sandhu quickly took control of the contest. She ended a promising partnership between Yasmin Daswani and Kary Chan, which proved to be Hong Kong, China’s only meaningful resistance with the bat.
The left-arm spinner then struck twice in the space of four balls to remove Marina Lamplough and Maryam Bibi, leaving the batting side in serious trouble at 40 for 5 and effectively ending any hopes of an unlikely recovery.
Sandhu continued to run through the line-up, dismissing Shanzeen Shahzad and Alison Sui in successive deliveries to put herself on a hat-trick. Mixing generous flight with occasional quicker deliveries, she eventually claimed her sixth wicket off the final ball of her spell.
The performance marked Sandhu’s first five-wicket haul in T20 internationals and gave her the best bowling figures ever recorded by a Pakistan woman in the format. It was also the second six-wicket haul of the tournament, following Chamari Athapaththu’s remarkable 7 for 5 against Indonesia last week.
Sandhu also became only the third Pakistan bowler to register a five-for in a Women’s T20I. Nida Dar achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in 2018, while Omaima Sohail repeated it against the same opposition in 2022.
Kary Chan offered some resistance, scoring 30 before Ayesha Zafar dismissed her in the 16th over. Joyleen Kaur was the final batter to fall as Hong Kong, China were bowled out for 71, handing Pakistan a comfortable 72-run victory.
Kaur had earlier made an impact with the ball, returning impressive figures of 4 for 19 to keep Pakistan’s scoring in check. Only four Pakistan batters reached double figures, with opener Shawaal Zulfiqar leading the way with 47 off 35 balls.
Pakistan appeared to be in a strong position at 92 for 2 but suffered a collapse that saw them slip to 101 for 6, giving Hong Kong, China a chance to restrict them to a modest total. However, Pakistan recovered sufficiently to post 143, which ultimately proved far beyond the reach of their opponents.
The victory confirmed Pakistan’s place in the last four, where they will take on Sri Lanka in the second semi-final on September 11.
– Ends
