Captain Fatima hopes to carry momentum in WC after SL victory

LAHORE: Pakistan captain Fatima Sana expressed her hope to carry on the momentum after her side’s thumping 31-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Fatima was instrumental in Pakistan’s victory, recovering the team from 84/8 to a respectable total of 116 with her quickfire 30-run cameo. Later, with the ball, she bagged two wickets, including the prized scalp of her Sri Lankan counterpart Chamari Athapaththu. For her all-round brilliance, Fatima Sana was awarded the Player of the Match in her maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match as captain. Speaking at the post-match presentation, she thanked her teammates and credited the management for the important victory.

“I am excited, thanks to the team they supported well. All credit goes to management,” said Fatima. “We need to take the momentum and carry this to the next match. I blame myself [for the score], but I tried to back myself and be calm to hit.”

Fatima also shared that getting rid of Chamari Athapaththu early was crucial for setting the tone to defend the modest total. “Obviously, we all know Chamari is a good player, we needed that wicket to have a good start and we got it,” she said.

“We won the toss and we wanted a lot of runs but we didn’t get. But we still achieved the target in the game.” Pakistan had suffered a major blow earlier in the run defense when their experienced pacer Diana Baig limped off the field after bowling just one delivery. Fatima Sana stated that she would inquire about Baig’s injury after the game. “Unfortunately she [Diana Baig] was injured. She is our main player. I had to calm myself as captain and carry on with the ball after that. We will ask her how she is after the game,” Fatima said.