Nida routs Malaysia as Pak women enter Asia Cup semis

KUALA LUMPUR: Nida Dar struck 41 off 27 balls and then took 4 for 5 as Pakistan dismantled Malaysia by 147 runs which also earned them a place in women’s Asia Cup semifinal.

Dar was part of a vital fourth-wicket partnership of 85 runs with skipper Bismah Maroof that lifted Pakistan from 59 for 3 in the ninth over to 177 for 5. She then ripped through the Malaysia line-up as they crashed to 30 all out. The offspinner bowled 22 deliveries in all - 18 of them were dots.

The final result was quite the contrast to how Malaysia had begun. Having elected to field, they had Pakistan in trouble with the run-out of Nahida Khan in the first over. The other opener Javeria Rauf fell within the Powerplay as well. But just as things began to look troubling, Dar and Maroof then took Pakistan into overdrive, scoring their runs at 10.6 an over. The stand ended with the dismissal of Maroof for 62 off 37 balls.

Malaysia didn’t lose early wickets, but they didn’t make early runs either, ending the Powerplay at 9 for 0. Sana Mir then had Christina Baret lbw in the fifth ball of the seventh over, and from there the end was swift. Dar struck with her first delivery, in the 13th over, having Yusrina Yaakop caught. Nashra Sandhu followed it up with a double-strike at the other end, before Dar sent back Mas Elysa and Zumika Azmi off successive deliveries. She then picked up a wicket each in her next two overs, the last of which ended the Malaysia innings.

Scores: Pakistan 177 for 5 (Bismah Maroof 62, Nida Dar 41) beat Malaysia 30 (Nida Dar 4-5) by 147 runs.

India beat Sri Lanka: After a shock defeat to Bangladesh, India women were mighty impressive in how they picked themselves back together again in less than 24 hours time on Thursday.

Their bowlers shackled Sri Lanka to just 107 in 20 overs, setting up a comfortable seven-wicket win and, quite probably, a virtual semifinal with Pakistan on Saturday.

Batting first, Sri Lanka nudged and prodded to 50 for 1 around the 10th over mark, before slipping into freefall. After the second wicket fell, none of the following six batters coming in could make it into double figures as the spin trio of Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav and Anuja Patil routed through the middle order. All this time, No.3 batter Hasini Perera was fighting a lone battle from one end, but there was only so much she could do.

India didn’t have the smoothest starts to their chase, losing Smriti Mandhana after a sluggish start. But the target was paltry, and the experienced heads in Mithali Raj and captain Harmanpreet Kaur knew they had the luxury of biding their time. Once they provided the stability, Veda Krishnamurthy came in and polished off the remaining runs in brisk fashion along with Patil.

Scores: Sri Lanka women 107/7 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 46; Ekta Bisht 2-20) lost to India Women 110/3 in 18.5 overs (Veda Krishnamurthy 29; Nilakshi de Silva 1-12) by seven wickets

Bangladesh rout Thailand: Bangladesh continued their winning run in the Women’s Asia Cup as they crushed a hapless Thailand side by nine wickets in Kuala Lumpur. Salma Khatun and Nahida Akter shared four spoils between them, while Ayasha Rahman (25*) and Nigar Sultana (25*) stitched an undefeated 54-run stand for the second wicket, as Bangladesh chased down the paltry target of 61 for the loss of just one wicket.

Thailand, who were inserted into bat, lost wickets at regular intervals. Nattaya Boochatham (15), Sornnarin Tippoch (13*) and Sirintra Saengsakaorat (14), batting at No.9, were the only three batters who crossed the double-digit mark.

Scores: Thailand 60/8 in 20 overs (Nattaya Boochatham 15; Salma Khatun 2-6) lost to Bangladesh 62/1 in 11.1 overs (Ayasha Rahman 25*, Nigar Sultana 25*) by nine wickets.