KARACHI: Dynamites captain Sidra Amin smashed 95 off 100 balls to help her side to their third straight win in the women’s Pakistan Cup as they beat Blasters by 78 runs at the State Bank Ground on Monday.

The right-hander struck 13 fours and stitched a 130-run partnership for the second wicket with former Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof, who made a 95-ball 65 (two fours and a six). The two came together when Khadija Chishti was out caught and bowled for five by Diana Baig with 23 runs on board.

Sidra and Bismah now lead the tournament’s batting charts with 195 and 94 runs, respectively.

The partnership pushed back the Blasters bowlers and propelled Dynamites to 214-4 in 45 overs. Diana and Saba Nazir picked up two wickets each.

Blasters were all out for 136 in 37.3 overs as off-spinner Rameen Shamim took three wickets for 25, while Nashra Sundhu, Ghulam Fatima and Maham Manzoor picked up two wickets each.

Blasters captain Muneeba Ali top-scored with 33 and the second best performance with the bat in the innings came from opener Ayesha Zafar, who made 30.

Fatima, the leg-spinner, has the most wickets in the tournament with eight scalps at 7.88. Diana Baig and Aliya Riaz follow her with six and five wickets, respectively.

Challengers, who are yet to win a match, will play Blasters on Wednesday.

Scores in brief:

DYNAMITES 214-4 in 45 overs (Sidra Amin 95, Bismah Maroof 65, Aliya Riaz 21; Saba Nazir 2-36, Diana Baig 2-37); BLASTERS 136 all out, 37.3 overs (Muneeba Ali 33, Ayesha Zafar 30; Rameen Shamim 3-25, Maham Manzoor 2-17, Nashra Sundhu 2-28, Ghulam Fatima 2-28).

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023