Pakistan’s women cricketers survived a serious scare from Thailand to reach the semi-finals of the Asian Games cricket competition on Wednesday, scrambling home by three wickets in a rain-reduced, last-over thriller at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.
Put in to bat after Pakistan won the toss in a contest reduced to 11 overs a side by rain, Thailand posted 91 for 3, built around a defiant 49 off 38 balls from Nannapat Koncharoenkai, who struck seven fours before being trapped lbw by Fatima Sana in the final over. Chasing 92 to win, Pakistan looked in complete control after opener Shawal Zulfiqar raced to 25 off just 14 balls, only to slide alarmingly from a strong start into the mid-40s for four wickets down, turning a straightforward chase into a genuine nervy finish, according to match reports from Dawn and CricketAddictor.
It took an all-round effort from captain Fatima Sana to pull Pakistan out of trouble. After leading the bowling attack with 2 for 22 to restrict Thailand, Sana counter-attacked with the bat, smashing 21 off just 13 balls including three fours and a six, adding a rapid stand with Eyman Fatima that swung momentum firmly back in Pakistan’s favour. Lower-order contributions from Tuba Hassan and the tail then saw the innings home, with Pakistan getting to 92 for 7 with two balls to spare in 10.4 overs to seal the win by three wickets.
| Team | Score | Overs | Key Performers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand Women (batting first) | 91/3 | 11.0 | Nannapat Koncharoenkai 49 (38) |
| Pakistan Women (chasing) | 92/7 | 10.4 | Shawal Zulfiqar 25 (14), Fatima Sana 21 (13) & 2/22 |
Result: Pakistan Women won by 3 wickets. Match reduced to 11 overs a side due to rain at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Japan.
The win keeps alive Pakistan’s strong recent history in Asian Games cricket — the last two editions where the sport featured on the programme, Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, both ended with gold medals for the Pakistan women’s team. They now advance to face the winner of the Sri Lanka-Malaysia quarter-final in the last four, with Sri Lanka going in as clear favourites for that tie, per CricketAddictor’s report.
The result offers a rare bright spot for Pakistan cricket after a difficult few days for the men’s side, who were whitewashed 3-0 by England in their recent Test series — a reminder that, going into the semi-final, it is the women’s team currently keeping Pakistan’s medal hopes alive on the continental stage.
Our Opinion
A three-wicket win built on a batting collapse isn’t the platform Pakistan would have wanted heading into a semi-final against a side as strong as Sri Lanka, and it says something about the squad’s batting depth that a modest 92-run target turned into a genuine alarm; but it also says a great deal about Fatima Sana’s growing stature as captain that she was the one to steady both the bowling and the chase when it mattered, and PakDaily’s takeaway is that Pakistan’s tournament now hinges less on whether they can win a low-scoring match than on whether the middle order can be trusted not to manufacture another self-inflicted crisis in a knockout they can’t afford to lose.
