Bowlers and Feroza-Muneeba thump Nepal to give Pakistan NRR-boosting win

Pakistan kept their Women's Asia Cup campaign alive with a thumping nine-wicket win over Nepal in Dambulla on Sunday evening.

Having lost their opening game to India, Pakistan were in a must-win situation and did not let their fans down. Nepal started briskly after being sent in. They had a strong finish as well. But the Pakistan bowlers and fielders - there were three run-outs - caused enough damage in the middle overs to restrict Nepal to 108 for 6. Gull Feroza and Muneeba Ali then smashed 105 in just 11.2 overs to kill the game. Feroza was the aggressor, scoring 57 off 35 balls, while Muneeba stayed unbeaten on 46 off 34.

The win boosted Pakistan's net run-rate to 0.409 and lifted them to second position on the points table.

Samjhana Khadka, fresh from her match-winning half-century against UAE, slapped Fatima Sana over extra cover for four on the fourth ball of the innings. But she was late on the pull next ball, and ended up offering a simple catch to Nashra Sandhu at short midwicket.

The wicket did not affect Nepal's intent. Sita Rana Magar, the other opener, and Kabita Kunwar, the No. 3, also opened their accounts with fours. The pair also hit a boundary each off Omaima Sohail to take the side to 29 for 1 after four overs.

In her first over, left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal had rapped Kunwar on the pads three times in three balls. When Iqbal returned for her second, the fifth of the innings, Kunwar tried to cut her but ended up edging it to the keeper. Nepal captain Indu Barma lasted just two balls; Iqbal beat her for pace with an arm ball that rattled the stumps. Sohail followed up Iqbal's one-run, two-wicket over with a maiden as Nepal finished the powerplay on 30 for 3.

Nepal's next boundary came in the ninth over when Rubina Chhetry lofted Sandhu down the ground for four. But Chhetry's run-out in the next over kept Nepal in check. Shortly after that, Magar too was run-out while going for a non-existent second run.

After 15 overs, Nepal were 68 for 5, and it looked like they would struggle to reach 100. But Puja Mahato and Kabita Joshi switched gears after that. There was a period during their stand when the pair hit six fours in 18 balls. Mahato was run-out with five balls left in the innings but Joshi batted till the end and even hit Sana for the only six of the innings in the final over. Pakistan's sloppy fielding also helped Nepal, who scored 40 in the last five overs.

If Nepal thought they had posted a decent total, Feroza and Muneeba showed it was anything but. Feroza smashed the first ball of the chase through the covers for four. She hit three more boundaries in the next two overs and moved to 20 off 16 balls. Muneeba had faced just two balls at that stage and was yet to open her account.

Muneeba did struggle initially but did not take too long to hit her stride. In the sixth over, she hit Magar for three fours as Pakistan ended the powerplay on 52 for no loss.

Even when the field restrictions were relaxed, there was no respite for the Nepal bowlers, who not only erred in their lines and lengths but also lacked the backing of their fielders. There was not a single over during the chase that did not feature a boundary.

Feroza alone hit eight fours in the first eight overs, and brought up her maiden T20I fifty off 30 balls. By the time she fell, Pakistan needed just four runs, which Muneeba knocked off with yet another boundary.