KARACHI - October 1, 2015: All-rounder Bismah Maroof excelled yet again in the second T20 International against Bangladesh women team to help Pakistan sweep the two-match series here at Southend Club Ground, on Thursday.
Pakistan captain Sana Mir was second time lucky in winning the toss and her charger stood up to the occasion despite some jitters in the opening overs. But still they defeated Bangladesh by 34 runs in their second T20I match.
Having chosen to bat, Pakistan struggled at 61 for 4 in 13 overs, with Bangladesh left-arm spinner Nahida Akter affecting a run-out and taking two quick wickets, including that of Marina Iqbal for 33. With the series on the line, Bangladesh bowlers didn’t allow the opposing batters to score freely, and applied considerable pressure with disciplined bowling from the start. The pitch having slowed down, and with inconsistent bounce in the offer, Pakistani girls found it extremely difficult to time the ball to their liking. With shot-making made tricky under the blazing sun, Pakistan crept to 47 runs in 11 overs. Mariana in between the wobble of wickets saved one end to get among the runs. She also hit four boundaries in 41 balls she faced.
Like she had done in the first game, Bishmah Maroof stabilized the innings with 44 off 38 balls, and with Aliya Riaz, steered Pakistan towards the modest total of 114. And later the girls in green reduced Bangladesh to 70 for seven in 20 overs. Similar to the way she kept one end secured in the previous encounter, Bismah batted with confidence, easily rotating the strike as Bangladesh skipper Salma Khatun protected the boundaries.
Javeria Khan was the first to head back to the pavilion for just two runs and Nida Dar and Irum Javed followed suit for just three and one run respectively. From then Bismah performed an act of valour to secure healthy total for Pakistan to fight for. Bismah relied more on singles and doubles and hit two fours. She got useful support in Aliya who added 20 runs to the score. In the death overs, Aliya Riaz used the long handle to good effect, with her cameo of 20 from 15 balls.
Later Asmavia Iqbal, who was run out could muster seven runs. Bangladesh applied breaks on Pakistan getting more runs through Nahida Akter, who snared two wickets while Salma Kahtun and Lata Mondal shared one wicket apiece.
Bangladesh once again chased poorly, especially after their bowlers managed to restrict the hosts for easy score to manage. Needing 115 to square the series in 20 overs, Bangladesh women were rocked early with a succession of wickets. Ayasha fell in the 2nd over, Fargana in the 3rd and Sharmin went back to the pavilion in the 7th over with only 23 runs on the board. Bangladesh skipper Salma tried to rally with Rumana Ahmed, but the required run-rate never seemed attainable. When Salma was gone in the 10th over with only 28 runs on the board, Bangladesh’s challenge petered out with the Pakistani bowlers dictating terms on the sluggish pitch.
They lost their first five wickets for 38 runs in 12 overs. Rumana Ahmed was the top scorer with 27 off 33 balls, but there was no momentum in their chase and their innings folded at 80 for 7.
Bismah Maroof was declared player of the match as well as player of the series for being the highest run scorer for Pakistan. Nida Dar and Summaiya Siddiqui from Pakistan took two wickets for 15 and nine runs respectively in their allocated quota overs while captain Sana had one.
The two sides will play two ODI matches with the the first ODI being held in Karachi on October 4, and the second match will be played at the same venue on October 6.
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