FAISALABAD: Challengers beat Strikers by five wickets while Conquerors downed Invincibles by 38 runs in the fifth round of the National Women’s One-Day Tournament in Faisalabad on Saturday.

Challengers recorded the victory – their second in the tournament out of four games – as they chased down the 209 with 38 balls to spare at the Jawad Club Cricket Ground.

Player-of-the-match Ayesha Zafar (83) and Eyman Fatima (59 not out) struck solid half-centuries for the winners.

Earlier, the Strikers had slumped to 34-4 before centurion Aliya Riaz (101 not out) and Nashra (50 not out) joined forces to take their team out of trouble with an unbeaten 174-run stand.

Strikers now sit at the bottom of the table with one win out of four games, while Challengers are third.

In the second game of the fifth round, table toppers Conquerors successfully defended their 244-run total restricting fourth-placed Invincibles to 206 all out in 44.4 overs at the HPC Ground.

For Conquerors, the 124-run opening stand by Saira Jabeen (88), who was later named player-of-the-match, and Gull Feroza (64) laid the foundation of a fighting total.

In reply, Invincibles could not achieve the target despite fighting half-centuries from Natalia Parvaiz (66) and Muneeba Ali (51). Spinners Saima Malik (3-31) and Ayesha Bilal (3-46) were the main wicket-takers.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2025