Late Flourish from the lower middle order takes England to a competitive total before Sarah Glenn and Lauren Bell dismantle Pakistan to go 1-0 up with a comprehensive victory.
The England women’s team led by skipper Heather Knight for a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The bilateral series will conclude on 29th May 2024.
Pakistan skipper Nida Dar won the toss and opted to bowl first. After being inserted to bat first, the home side, England got off to a horrific start, losing their top order inside the first three overs of the innings and found themselves in deep trouble at 11/4 in the 3rd over of the innings.
The wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones, playing her landmark 100th T20I, joined skipper Heather Knight at the crease and the duo led the recovery with a solid 67-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Sadia Iqbal picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones to provide the first breakthrough for Pakistan.
Danielle Gibson joined skipper Heather Knight at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 41-run partnership for the 6th wicket. Tuba Hassan picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Heather Knight to provide the 6th breakthrough for her side. Skipper Heather Knight fell just one run short of her well-deserved half-century.
England eventually ended up with a respectable total of 163/6 in their quota of overs. The 44-run 7th wicket partnership between Sophie Ecclestone and Danielle Gibson took the home side past the 160-run mark. Skipper Heather Knight (49 off 44 balls), Danielle Gibson (41 off 21 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones (37 off 27 balls) were the top performers with the bat for England. Waheeda Akhtar (4-1-20-2), Sadia Iqbal (4-0-30-2), and Tuba Hassan (3-0-22-1) were the top performers with the ball for Pakistan.
Chasing a target of 164, the Pakistan openers Sidra Amin and Gull Feroza got off to a good start, scoring over seven runs an over. Charli Dean picked up the wicket of Sidra Amin to provide the first breakthrough for England. Sadaf Shamas joined Gull Feroza at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 27-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Lauren Bell picked up the wicket of Gull Feroza to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 110, falling short of the target by 53 runs with 10 balls to spare. The visitors lost their last eight wickets for just 60 runs. Sadaf Shamas (35 off 24 balls), Gull Feroza (17 off 15 balls), and Fatima Sana (16 off 20 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Pakistan. Sarah Glenn (4-0-12-4), Lauren Bell (3.2-0-22-3), and Sophie Ecclestone (4-0-17-1) were the top performers with the ball for England.
England’s wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational, all-round performance, scoring (37 off 27 balls) with the bat and picking up four catches from behind the stumps with the gloves in hand to sign off her 100th T20I match on a memorable note.
