Rain once again played spoilsport in the Pakistan-New Zealand ICC Women’s World Cup match in Colombo in a flop on Saturday.
In a must-win clash to keep their faint semi-final hopes alive, Pakistan were 92-5 after 25 overs when rain forced players off the field at the R. Premadasa Stadium, and the match was reduced to 36 overs per innings before finally being called off after 8:30 p.m.
An earlier stoppage of play due to rain had reduced the innings to 46 overs per team with a 9-over play as Pakistan returned to continue their batting of 52-3.
Pakistan and New Zealand share a point each after tonight’s no result, as South Africa became the second team to qualify for the tournament’s semi-finals, with the Green Shirts still searching for their first win.
Speaking after the match, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana said: “As a bowling unit, we are all happy. But we need to improve our batting. We have a couple of matches. We would like to play some good cricket in the next few matches.
He added that his team will try to win the next two matches and finish the tournament on a high note.
Earlier, Pakistan was brought into play after losing the toss and remained unchanged from their last match against England on Wednesday.
Opener Muneeba Ali got off to a flying start, hitting a boundary on the first ball of the innings by clipping a wayward delivery to get off the mark.
She also got a reprieve when she was dropped by wicketkeeper Isabella Gaze in the second over off Jess Kerr’s bowling.
However, she could not capitalize on that opportunity with a big score as she fell for just 22, soon after Pakistan lost Omaima Sohail.
Muneeba got out thanks to an excellent catch by Suzie Bates at short mid-wicket, while Omaima fell victim to Lea Tahuhu’s pace and was trapped in one that skidded.
Tahuhu continued to trouble the Pakistani batsmen with his energetic bowling, and the in-form Sidra Amin was his next scalp.
Sidra got out while cutting one straight towards point after getting a boundary on the previous one from Sophie Devine.
That was the last delivery made before the skies opened once again in the Sri Lankan capital, which has already suffered two floods this week and is in the middle of monsoon season.
After the first rain-induced break, Pakistan managed just 40 more runs and lost both their captain, Fatima Sana, and the set’s batter, Natalia Pervaiz.
Natalia fell while trying to pick up the pace against spinner Eden Carson as the captain continued his lean run with the bat, being bowled by an Amelia Kerr googly.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s hopes of a first World Cup victory were hit by rain, with their crucial match against England abandoned after a second downpour in Colombo. The Kiwis also come into the match with a loss against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Equipment:
Pakistan: Omaima Sohail, Muneeba Ali, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Sidra Nawaz (bearer), Fatima Sana (captain), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal.
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (captain), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson and Lea Tahuhu.
