- Tournament stats and scorecards are available here
Rawalpindi, 19 January 2024: The fourth round of National Women’s T20 Tournament saw action unfold at three venues across two cities. In Rawalpindi, Lahore continued their unbeaten streak after defeating Quetta by six wickets at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium. Rawalpindi fell 22 runs short of chasing 131 against Karachi at Ayub Park Ground.
In Islamabad, Multan dominated over Peshawar with a nine-wicket win after dismissing the side for a paltry 57 in the first innings.
Quetta v Lahore at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
In the match that was livestreamed on PCB’s YouTube channel, Quetta posted 115-7 in 20 overs after choosing to bat first against Lahore. Quetta got off to a breezy start courtesy of a 41-run opening partnership between Fareeha Mahmood and Dua Majid.
Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu, brought into the attack in the last over of the powerplay, struck to remove Fareeha (15, 16b, 3x4s). Jannat Rashid (10, 7b, 2x4s), the next batter in, was caught by Sidra Amin off captain Nida Dar’s bowling.
Nashra disturbed Dua’s stumps, who walked back after 34 from 23, including six boundaries. Leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima got Subhana Tariq (6, 9b, 1x4) and Saima Malik (1, 4b) out to further deplete Quetta’s scoring rate.
Khizra Rani made seven runs before falling to Ayesha Zafar, while Khairun Nisa was run out by Sadaf Shams. Tuba Hassan, the fifth batter in, remained unbeaten at run-a-ball 36, including five boundaries.
Fatima and Nashra picked up two wickets each, while Nida and Ayesha got a batter out each as well.
Anam Amin landed an early blow to send Lahore’s opening batter Sadaf Shams walking back for a duck. Soon after, Khairun Nisa removed Ayesha Zafar and Kaynat Hafeez cheaply to bring Lahore down to 26-3 inside the powerplay.
Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz built a 37-run partnership to bring stability to the innings. Ayesha Asim broke the partnership by dismissing Sidra Amin (34, 27b, 4x4s, 1x6).
Skipper Nida Dar (38 not out, 23b, 6x4s) joined Sidra Nawaz (26 not out, 21b, 3x4s) on the crease. The two put up an undefeated 53-run stand to take Lahore over the line, in the 16th over with six wickets in the bag.
Nida, the top-scorer in the game, was adjudged player of the match.
Rawalpindi v Karachi at Ayub Park Ground, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi won the toss and invited Karachi to bat first. Muneeba Ali and Javeria Khan gave Karachi a solid start with a 63-run opening stand. Left-arm spinner Tania Saeed broke the partnership by removing Muneeba (36, 33b, 5x4s).
Waheeda Akhtar ran out Javeria (21, 24b, 2x4s) in the 11th over. Omaima Sohail and skipper Fatima Sana both could only chip in five runs each before getting out to Aima Saleem and Tania respectively.
Yusra Amir added 25 from 26, including two boundaries before she was trapped leg-before by Waheeda. Syeda Aroob Shah (19 not out, 11b, 1x6) was the other contributor with the bat as Karachi got to 130-6 in 20 overs.
Tania was the most successful bowler for Rawalpindi, returning with two scalps. Aima, Waheeda and Aliya Riaz picked up one wicket each.
In reply, Fatima while leading from the front, provided the first breakthrough for Karachi by removing Fajar Naveed (8, 10b, 1x4) to bring the 39-run opening stand to an end.
The top run-getter of the innings, Aima Saleem (24, 25b, 5x4s), was the next batter to fall when she was caught by Javeria off Maham Manzoor’s bowling.
Rawalpindi captain Aliya Riaz was dismissed by Omaima for a duck as trouble deepened for her side. The sixth batter in, Waheeda, chipped in 23 from 20, including three boundaries and six, before Omaima caught her off Rameen Shamim’s bowling.
Arijah Haseeb (10, 7b, 2x4s) and Humna Bilal (10 not out, 6b, 1x4) were the other contributors with the bat as Rawalpindi got to 109-9 in 20 overs, losing the game by 21 runs.
Maham, who picked up two wickets for just three runs in her four overs, was awarded player of the match for her impressive outing with the ball. Omaima, Fatima and Rameen also had two wickets each to their names.
Peshawar v Multan at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad
Peshawar could not capitalise on their decision to bat first and were bundled over for a measly 57 in 17.1 overs against Multan. Opening batters Momina Riyasat (9, 6b, 2x4s) and Aleena Shah (3, 6b) both fell to Ayesha Bilal. Left-arm pacer Tasmia Rubab trapped Raahima Syed leg-before wicket for just a run.
Tehzeeb Shah (1, 6b) was run out by Tasmia to bring Peshawar down to 24-4 inside five overs. Ayesha struck again to remove Nayab Ishfaq for just a run.
Asma Shareef removed Mahnoor Qayyum (7, 13b, 1x4) and Shabnam Hayat (0, 8b) as Peshawar fell deeper in trouble.
Shahmeer Rajput dismissed Fatima Zeb and Anaya Khan while Seema Gul fell to Noor ul Eman to bring the Peshawar innings to an end. Salwa Raheem (10 not out, 28b, 1x4) was the highest scorer for the side.
Ayesha was the pick of the bowlers for Multan, accounting for three wickets. Shahmeer and Asma bagged two scalps while Noor and Tasmia had one wicket each to their names.
Multan’s opening batter Samina Aftab fell to Momina for a duck. Undeterred by the early setback, skipper Gull Feroza and Saiqa Riaz produced an unbeaten partnership of 58 runs to take their team over the line in just the 12th over.
Gull contributed an undefeated 39 from 37, including three boundaries. From the other end, Saiqa added 17 from 25 including a four, as Multan won the game by nine wickets.
For their performances with the bat and ball respectively, Gull Feroza and Ayesha Bilal were adjudged players of the match.
All six teams will feature in fifth round matches on 22 January. The first ball will be bowled at 11am. The match between Karachi and Lahore at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium will be live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel.
Scores in brief:
Lahore beat Quetta by six wickets at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium
Quetta 115-7, 20 overs (Tuba Hassan 36 not out, Dua Majid 34, Fareeha Mahmood 15; Ghulam Fatima 2-13, Nashra Sandhu 2-28)
Lahore 116-4, 15.1 overs (Nida Dar 38 not out, Sidra Amin 34, Sidra Nawaz 26 not out; Khairun Nisa 2-23, Anam Amin 1-13)
Player of the match – Nida Dar (Lahore)
Karachi beat Rawalpindi by 21 runs at Ayub Park Ground
Karachi 130-6, 20 overs (Muneeba Ali 36, Yusra Amir 25, Javeria Khan 21, Syeda Aroob Shah 19 not out; Tania Saeed 2-19)
Rawalpindi 109-9, 20 overs (Aima Saleem 24, Waheeda Akhtar 23, Natalia Parvaiz 13; Maham Manzoor 2-3, Omaima Sohail 2-11, Rameen Shamim 2-25, Fatima Sana 2-28)
Player of the match – Maham Manzoor (Karachi)
Multan beat Peshawar by nine wickets at Diamond Club Ground
Peshawar 57 all out, 17.1 overs (Salwa Raheem 10 not out, Momina Riyasat 9; Ayesha Bilal 3-16, Asma Shareef 1-2, Shahmeer Rajput 2-4)
Multan 61-1, 11.3 overs (Gull Feroza 39 not out, Saiqa Riaz 17 not out; Momina Riyasat 1-13)
Player of the match – Ayesha Bilal and Gull Feroza (Multan)
