Thursday thrill: Can Sana’s girls hope for Semis’ slot for first time?

Published March 24, 2016
Pakistani women cricket team captain Sana Mir, right, and wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz celebrate taking a wicket. — AP/File
Pakistani women cricket team captain Sana Mir, right, and wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz celebrate taking a wicket. — AP/File

MOHALI: Group B in the Women’s World T20 will witness two games on Thursday evening that should be of interest to the Pakistani fans – albeit one of a bit more interest than the other.

One match will have joint group leaders West Indies clash with England in Dharamsala, both seeking to consolidate their position at the top which they now share with four points from two wins in two outings.

A win for either will cement a berth in the semis, but it is who loses this fight-for-the-top-slot is what should be of interest to Pakistan.

For Sana Mir’s girls play the other match against Bangladesh in Delhi, and if they win, it will enable them to join the losers of the Dharamsala game at the second spot with four points from three games.

More importantly, it will give the Pakistani women, who have two points from two games, a reasonable chance to harbor hopes for a passage to the semis.

The other team in Group B, title contenders India with two points from three games, are all but out of the title-race following two narrow defeats to Pakistan and England.

Thursday’s Thriller

If one were to go by history, it ought to be a cakewalk for Sana Mir’s girls at the Feroze Shah Kotla grounds in Delhi on Thursday evening.

This will be the seventh time that the Bangladesh and Pakistan women will be meeting on the cricket pitch, with the results having gone Pakistan’s way the previous six times.

But if that is cause for bringing some sort of cheer to fans, there is also the dampener: Pakistan have won only four matches in 18 Women’s World T20 matches – though the last one has been against a tough opposition like India.

Also, neither does Bangladesh boast of a sparkling track record in the Women’s World T20; it has only managed to win two of eight games it has played.

Plus, Bangladesh are without a win since April 2014 in this format.

Bangladesh will be looking for its first win in this year’s tournament; for a nation so obsessed with the game as them, that is small recompense.

But there are personal milestones to reach too; skipper Salma Khatun is just 66 T20 runs shy of becoming the first Bangladesh woman player to reach 500.

And for Pakistan, Nida Dar needs four more wickets to reach 50 in T20 Internationals. Can she do it this evening? And more important, can the Pakistani women strengthen their bid for a semi-final slot?

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.