Pakistan Women won the toss and elected to bowl first in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against Scotland at the County Ground in Derby. Their captain, Fatima Sana, mentioned at the toss that they chose to field to give their bowling unit a good test ahead of the main tournament.
Scotland put up a massive total of 187/5 behind a brilliant, explosive performance from their captain, Kathryn Bryce, who smashed 94 runs off just 43 balls. In reply, Pakistan’s chase completely collapsed to 62/5 in 9 overs before heavy rain stopped the game, giving Scotland a comfortable 41-run victory via the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method.
Scotland Women posted a strong total of 187/5 in their allotted 20 overs, anchored by opener Darcey Carter’s 45 off 36 balls and an incredible captain’s knock from Kathryn Bryce, who blazed 94 runs off just 43 deliveries. Contribution support also came from Katherine Fraser who scored 19 off 19 and Priyanaz Chatterji who scored 18* off 14, while Sarah Bryce and Megan McColl were dismissed cheaply for 1 and 7 runs respectively.
Pakistan Women’s bowling attack struggled to contain the opposition, with captain Fatima Sana conceding 40 runs in her 4 overs without taking a wicket. Tasmia Rubab managed a breakthrough with figures of 1/32 from her 4 overs, while Sadia Iqbal was the most economical bowler, finishing with 1/23 from 3 overs. Rameen Shamim’s figures were 0/32, Nashra Sandhu’s figures were 0/28, and Ayesha Zafar’s figures were 1/32 all bowled 3 overs each.
Chasing a target of 188 runs from 20 overs, Pakistan Women’s innings began with opener Gull Feroza scoring a quick 7 runs off 5 balls, hitting a single boundary, before the chase got underway. Opener Muneeba Ali top-scored with a patient 20 off 22 balls, hitting the team’s only six, while Gull Feroza was dismissed early for 7 off 5 balls. Saira Jabeen and Ayesha Zafar fell cheaply for just 1 run each, falling to Niamh Slater and Katherine Fraser respectively.
Iram Javed provided a brief spark of aggression, striking two boundaries in her 14 off 9 balls before being caught off Abbi Aitken-Drummond (Abel). Captain Fatima Sana remained unbeaten at the crease with a quickfire 12* off 7 balls, alongside Aliya Riaz, who was not out on 1 off 2 balls, as the team reached 62/5 with the help of 6 extras before the innings concluded.
Scotland Women’s bowling unit produced a highly disciplined performance to dismantle the chase, led by Rachel Slater, who was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/11 from her 2 overs. Katherine Fraser also bowled a tidy spell to claim 1/13 in 2 overs, while captain Kathryn Bryce picked up 1/14 from her 2 overs.
Chloe Abel chipped in with 1/9 in her single over, whereas Kirstie Gordon went wicketless for 11 runs in her solitary over. Leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood wrapped up the bowling effort by delivering an exceptionally economical single over, conceding just 3 runs without a wicket.
For Scotland, everything clicked perfectly as captain Kathryn Bryce led from the front with a sensational, explosive 94 off 43 balls to anchor a massive total of 187/5, while their bowling unit backed it up with a highly disciplined, clinical performance.
Conversely, Pakistan’s decision to bowl first backfired heavily as their primary attack completely failed to contain the leakage of runs, with captain Fatima Sana conceding 40 runs, which was immediately followed by a disastrous top and middle-order batting collapse that left them stranded at 62/5 before the rain intervened.
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