Women’s World Cup: Sidra’s century ends in vain as Bangladesh defeats Pakistan

HAMILTON: Pakistan’s opener Sidra Ameen’s century was for naught as Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by nine runs in the 12th match of the current ICC Women’s World Cup on Monday.

Pakistan was cruising at 155/1 at one point, set to chase 235, but a match-defining collapse reduced them to 225/9 in the allocated 50 overs.

Pakistan got off to a flying start in the run chase, with openers Nahid Khan and Sidra putting on a good 91-run partnership for the first wicket.

The pair looked solid and were scoring sensibly until Nahida was bowled out by Rumana Ahmed, who castled the former for 43. She faced 67 balls and scored three goals.

Bismah Maroof, Pakistan’s captain, next joined Sidra at the crease, and they too teamed strongly, accumulating 64 runs for the second-wicket partnership before Bismah returned to the pavilion. She earned 31 points on 48 attempts.

Bismah’s departure precipitated a collapse, as Pakistan fell from 155/1 to 188/7 when century Sidra was bowled out. She had the highest scoring total of 104 from 140 balls, including eight boundaries.

The tail then fought back a little but was unable to lead the team to win as Bangladesh’s bowling unit reduced the green shirts to 225/9 in the stipulated 50 overs.

Fahima Khatun took three wickets for Bangladesh, while Rumana took two. Jahanara Alam and Salma Khatun, on the other hand, each struck out a batter.

Batting first, Bangladesh managed to register a decent 234/7 in their allocated overs, owing to Fargana Hoque’s stunning effort of 71 off 115 deliveries to lead the innings.

Sharmin Akhter, the opener, and skipper Nigar Sultana both contributed 44 and 46 points, respectively. The remainder of the batsmen chipped in with little efforts to help their team reach 234/7 in 50 overs.

Nashra Sandhu took three wickets for Pakistan, while Omaima Sohail, Nida Dar, and Fatima Sana each took one.