Nashra Sandhu’s six-wicket haul sends Pakistan into Asia Cup semi-finals

Nashra Sandhu claimed a maiden six-wicket haul in T20Is as Pakistan defeated Hong Kong by 72 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup. The victory secured Pakistan’s semi-final berth, where they will face Sri Lanka on September 11

Dubai: A brilliant maiden six-wicket haul by left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu in T20Is helped Pakistan Women beat Hong Kong Women by 72 runs in their Group ‘A’ match of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) in Dubai on Monday.

With this win, Pakistan confirmed their place in the semifinals of the eight-team tournament. Pakistan will now take on Sri Lanka in the second semifinal, scheduled for September 11.

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Defending a modest total of 144 built mainly on a brisk 47 by Shawaal Zulfiqar, the 28-year-old Nashra never allowed the Hong Kong batters to get going. Wickets fell at regular intervals as Pakistan bowled their opponents out for a paltry 71 to win the match with six balls to spare.

Player of the Match Nashra finished with figures of 4-0-7-6, which were also the best bowling figures by a Pakistan women’s cricketer in T20Is, surpassing Omaima Sohail’s five for 13 in four overs against Sri Lanka in Sylhet, Bangladesh in 2022.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Pakistan scored 143 for eight in their allotted 20 overs. Right-handed batter Shawaal top-scored with a 35-ball 47, hitting seven fours. Ayesha Zafar (26, 19b, 4×4) and captain Fatima Sana (24 not out, 24b, 2×6) were the other notable run-scorers for Pakistan, who had earlier on Sunday lost to archrivals India in their second match in the league.

For Hong Kong, Joyleen Kaur was the most successful bowler, taking four wickets for 19 runs.

Pakistan finished second in Group ‘A’, earning four points from two wins in three matches. They had won their first match against Thailand in the tournament.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 143/8 in 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 47, Ayesha Zafar 26, Fatima Sana 24 not out; Joyleen Kaur 4-19, Iqra Sahar 2-27, Kary Chan 2-33) beat Hong Kong 71 all out in 19 overs (Kary Chan 30; Nashra Sandhu

6-7) by 72 runs