Colombo, Oct 2 (IANS) Bangladesh bowlers put on a brilliant show as they ran through the batting lineup to restrict Pakistan to a paltry total of 129 in the third match of the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup in Colombo on Thursday.

Pakistan’s move to bat first backfired as the Fatima Sana-led side struggled to score against Bangladesh throughout their innings. To start with, Marufa Akter got her side key breakthroughs in the first over and dismissed opener Omaima Sohail and top-order batter Sidra Amin off consecutive deliveries.

Muneeba Ali then looked to get the scorecard ticking and took on the bowlers well in the initial stages of the Power-play. However, Nigar Sultana’s girls kept the opposition batters in check, making it difficult for them to score.

Muneeba’s struggle with the bat ended in the 12th over when Nahida Akter dismissed her, courtesy of a fine catch by Nishi Akter. Nahida was brilliant with the ball and also managed to take the wicket of Rameen Shamim.

Rameen chipped a tossed-up delivery around off straight to Nahida, who completed a good return catch as Pakistan slumped to 47/4 in 14 overs. While Sidra Nawaz offered some respite by hitting a few fours, her innings was cut short by Rabeya Khan as half the Pakistani side was back in the pavilion inside 19 overs.

It did not take long for the Bangladeshi batters to instigate a collapse as Pakistan’s batting unit crumbled under pressure. Wickets kept falling like dominoes, and to add to their misery, Nashra Sandhu was out hit-wicket as she walked back to the dugout in sheer disbelief.

From 115/9 in 35 overs, Pakistan could only get to 129 in 38.3 overs as Shorna Akter hit the final nail in the coffin and dismissed Sadia Iqbal. No batter managed to get a good score, with Rameen finishing as the top run-scorer for her side (23 off 39), followed by skipper Fatima, who scored 22 off 33.

No bowler went wicketless as Bangladesh’s unit worked in tandem. Shorna was the pick of the bowlers, picking three wickets in 3.3 overs while conceding only five runs, as Bangladesh set themselves an easy target of 130 to chase.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 129 all out in 38.3 overs (Rameen Shamim 23, Fatima Sana 22; Shorna Akter 3-5, Nahida Akter 2-19, Marufa Akter 2-31) against Bangladesh.

— IANS

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