Pakistan, Sri Lanka aim for women’s championship points

DUBAI: Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in round two of the ICC Women’s Championship in a three-ODI series that starts in Sharjah on Friday, as both sides bid to gain some ground on early pace-setter Australia.
Hosts Pakistan, currently sitting seventh in the table after losing their first round clash to Australia 3-0 back in August, are likely to call upon 15th placed Javeria Khan, who is the highest ranked batter on either side in the ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Batters.
Also expected to be seen in action is Nain Abidi (41st) and Nida Dar (60th).
In the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Bowlers, Pakistan bowler Sana Mir is the solitary player on either side in the top-10 and currently sits in seventh place.
A series victory for Sri Lanka would see them climb into the top three.
Looking ahead to the three-match ODI series, Pakistan captain Sana Mir said: “The ICC Women’s Championship is a great initiative for women’s cricket. It has given us more opportunity to express ourselves on a regular basis as cricketers. Our series with Sri Lanka is evenly placed as the venue is new to both sides and both teams have had very close games in the last couple of years. I am happy with the development of my team and the individual players and we are eager to improve our performances, both individually and collectively, and collect as many points as possible from the second round of the Championship,” she said.
The three ODI matches will take place in Sharjah on January 9, 11 and 13 as part of the seven-round ICC Women’s Championship, which is a qualifying tournament for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.