Colombo, Oct 15 (IANS) Skipper Fatima Sana produced a devastating opening spell to dismantle England’s top order and finish with 4 for 27, as Pakistan restricted England to 133 for 9 in 31 overs in their Women’s World Cup clash on a rain-curtailed afternoon at R. Premadasa Stadium.

Under the DLS Method, Pakistan set a revised target of 113 runs in 31 overs to register their first win of the tournament — and their first-ever against England in Women’s ODIs.

After the Pakistan captain won the toss and elected to field under overcast skies, Fatima made immediate use of the swing and seam movement on offer.

The right-arm seamer removed Amy Jones, Heather Knight, and Nat Sciver-Brunt in her first spell, after earlier seeing off the dangerous Tammy Beaumont, who was bowled by Diana Baig. England were left tottering at 39 for 4 after 6.4 overs, with Fatima’s incisive lengths and late movement proving too good for the English top order.

There was little respite thereafter. Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley briefly steadied England with a stand worth 15 runs for the fifth wicket, but Sadia Iqbal struck twice in quick succession — first bowling Lamb with a sharp arm ball before trapping Dunkley lbw a few overs later. England slid further to 79 for 7 after 25 overs, as Alice Capsey’s brief counterattack ended with her dismissal during an attempted big shot.

Heavy rain then interrupted play for nearly three hours, forcing a reduction in overs to 31 per side once conditions improved. Resuming with just a handful of wickets left, Charlie Dean and Emily Arlott played enterprising cameos, adding 46 runs for the eighth wicket to give England something to defend.

Their partnership was broken when Arlott was *run out, before Dean fell in the final over, chipping a delivery to short fine leg.

England managed 8 runs in the last over to close at 133 for 9, but their early collapse — nine wickets down before the rain delay — meant that, under the DLS adjustment, their effective resource depletion resulted in a revised target of 113 for Pakistan.

Brief scores: England 133/9 in 31 overs via DLS Method (Charlie Dean 33, Heather Knight 18; Fatima Sana 4-27, Sadia Iqbal 2-16) against Pakistan

–IANS

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