Bowlers help Pakistan complete historic whitewash over SA

KARACHI: Pakistan women’s team completed a whitewash by defeating South Africa by six runs in the last T20I, with bowlers defending 48 off 42 balls here at the National Bank Stadium on Monday night.

Chasing 151, South Africa looked good but the last seven overs saw all the bowlers giving away just singles and doubles. The 15th over from Sadia Iqbal, in which she gave just two runs and took Sune Luss’ (13) wicket, brought the home team back. With 21 needed off 12, South Africa’s hopes depended on Laura Wolvaardt being well-set on 72 from 54 balls, but Sadia Iqbal removed her, with substitute Fatima Sana taking the catch. In the last over, 13 were required, and Diana Baig, despite a no-ball, gave away just six runs and took a wicket.

South African openers started blazingly, scoring 33 in four overs, but after that, they added runs with wickets in hand, but not at a quick rate. At the end of the power play, the visitors had scored the same runs as Pakistan – 41 with the loss of Tazmin Brits for 18. But Laura stood at the crease and tailored the innings with singles and boundaries.

In the next four overs, Proteas added 32 runs, scoring 73-2 at the half-way stage. The 13th over saw 15 runs after which South Africa looked the clear favourites before Pakistan staged a remarkable comeback. Nashra Sandhu was the stand-out bowler with the sterling figure of 2-16, while Sadia took 2 for 25 in fours.

Earlier, Pakistan after being asked to bat by South Africa, posted 150 runs for the loss of five wickets. Even though Sidra Ameen and Bismah Maroof scored 39 runs each and skipper Nida Dar made 36, Pakistan couldn’t launch an onslaught in late overs to post a massive total.

The last game’s finishers, Muneeba Ali (8) and Aliya (6), had a couple of overs to score quick runs, but they found the fence only once. The nature of the pitch in the third game remained similar to the one in the first two T20Is, where big hits were hard to come by.

The South African bowlers also implemented the plans quite well, with Nonkululeko Mlaba and Tumi Sekhukhune being the stand-out bowlers, registering brilliant figures of 1-24 and 2-24, respectively.

During the power play, the Proteas bowlers only conceded 41 runs, and on the first bowl of the seventh over, Mlaba removed Shawaal Zulfiqar for 18. For the second wicket, Bismah and Sidra curated a 49-run partnership in almost seven overs before Shangar sent back Sidra for run-a-ball 39 with the help of four fours.