Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi earned victories in the seventh round of National Women T20 Tournament 2023/24 played across three venues in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Thursday.
In the first game after restricting Quetta to 93-6, Lahore chased the target comfortably with nine wickets in the bag at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium. Quetta posted a measly 93-6 in 20 overs after electing to bat first. Opening batters Fareeha Mehmood (17, 20b, 4x4s) and Dua Majid put up a partnership of 35 runs until the former was run out by Lahore captain Nida Dar.
Dua (24, 32b, 4x4s) was caught behind on leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima’s bowling. Tuba Hassan, the third batter in, scored a run-a-ball 14, with three boundaries before she fell to Noreen Yaqoob in the subsequent over.
Jannat Rasheed was run out by Sadaf Shamas and captain Saima Malik fell victim to Fatima, reducing Quetta to 65-5 in 15.5 overs.
Khadija Chishti (18 not out, 19b, 2x4s) and Ayesha Asim (10, 10, 1×4) were the other contributors with the bat. Fatima picked up two wickets for Lahore, while Noreen had one to her name. In reply, Lahore cruised to the target in just 11.5 overs. Sadaf Shamas and Sidra Amin propelled the chase with a 46-run opening stand.
Ayesha Asim was the only wicket-taker for Quetta as she dismissed Sidra just after the powerplay. The opening batter walked back for a 28 off 19, with the help of six boundaries.
Sadaf went on to hit an undefeated half-century (51 not out, 38b, 6x4s, 2x6s) that took Lahore over the line. Bismah Maroof also chipped in with an unbeaten 18 off 14 on the back of three fours while stitching a 53-run second-wicket partnership with Sadaf. For her performance with the bat, Sadaf was awarded player of the match.
At Ayub Park Ground, Rawalpindi won a last-ball thriller against Karachi after an eventful last over that saw a wicket followed by a match-winning boundary.
Rawalpindi won the toss and invited Karachi to bat first. Muneeba Ali and Javeria Khan stitched an opening stand that yielded 52 runs. Left-arm spinner Tania Saeed struck to remove Javeria (25, 34b, 1×4) as the first wicket fell for Karachi.
Omaima Sohail (10, 10b, 1×4) fell to Rawalpindi skipper Aliya Riaz for just run-a-ball 10, including one four. Right-arm pacer Humna Bilal delivered an exceptional over that resulted in three Karachi wickets; set batter Muneeba Ali departed after scoring a half-century (53, 44b, 6x4s), Karachi skipper Fatima Sana (10, 8b, 1×4) was trapped leg-before and the next batter in, Yusra Amir, fell in the same manner for a golden duck. Trouble deepened for Karachi as Aliya rattled Najiha Alvi’s (4, 7b) stumps and Syeda Aroob Shah (8, 8b) was caught and bowled by Waheeda Akhtar, with the scorecard reading 116-7 in 18.2 overs. In the last over, Rameen Shamim and Syeda Masooma Zahra were run out by Waheeda and Farzana Farooq respectively as Karachi finished at 125-9.
Humna, with three wickets to her name, was the pick of Rawalpindi bowlers. She was supported by her captain Aliya who had two wickets. Tania and Waheeda grabbed one wicket each.
In turn, Rawalpindi lost both their openers in the powerplay while chasing 126. Wicketkeeper-batter Farzana was pinned leg-before by Rameen and had to go back in the second over for just two runs and Aima Saleem (15, 22b, 1×4) fell to the same bowler on the last ball of the powerplay, with the scorecard reading 21-2 in six overs.
Fajar Naved added 14 from 28, with one four, before getting caught behind on Aroob’s bowling. Natalia Parvaiz and Aliya Riaz added 34 more to the total for the fourth-wicket partnership until Natalia (14, 13b, 2x4s) was caught by Muneeba to award Aroob her second wicket of the day.
Aliya played a captain’s knock to drive her team to a win. She impressed with an undefeated 67 from 45, on the back of seven boundaries and two maximums as Rawalpindi completed the chase in the final over.
Humna Bilal, who had come to bat in the final over, brought victory for her side with a boundary on the final delivery of the game, with Rawalpindi inching over Karachi in a close contest.
Aroob and Rameen were the only two wicket-takers for Karachi, accounting for two scalps each. Aliya was awarded player of the match for her incredible knock that took Rawalpindi to a five-wicket win.
At Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad, skipper Gull Feroza steered her side to victory, as her unbeaten half-century led Multan to a successful chase against Peshawar. After choosing to bat first, Peshawar suffered an early blow as Aleena Shah was run out for just a run in the first over of the innings.
Momina Riasat and Raahima Syed built an 82-run second-wicket stand to counter the early setback. Raahima scored 34 from 43, including five boundaries before getting caught off Rehmat Noreen’s bowling in the 15th over. In the subsequent over, Noor-ul-Iman pinned Momina leg-before for a run-a-ball 44 that showcased six fours. Tehzeeb
Shah was run out in the same over for just six runs with Peshawar’s scorecard showing 95-4 in 16 overs. Shabnam Hayat (12, 15b, 1×4) chipped in with some runs to help Peshawar to 116-5 in 20 overs. Gull Rukh, Rehmat and Noor had a wicket each.
Multan chased the target of 117 in 15.1 overs on the back of an unbeaten half-century by opening batter Gull Feroza. Multan skipper anchored the chase very well, producing 68 from 51 and smashed an impressive 10 boundaries to take her team over the line.
Aleena Masood (14, 9b, 3x4s), Gull Rukh (14, 15b, 2x4s) and Wajeeha Muneer (11, 10b, 2x4s) also added some runs to the total to help their team secure the win.
Aleena Shah, Tehzeeb and Seema Gul got a wicket each for Peshawar. For her match-winning half-century, Gull Feroza was adjudged player of the match. All six teams would feature in the eighth round of matches on 26 January 26.
