The first of the six limited-overs matches between Pakistan women and Zimbabwe women was played today in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. As Zimbabwe do not have an ODI status yet, the 50 over match played today will not qualify as an official ODI.
Coming off a nightmarish tour of South Africa where they were at the receiving end of a whitewash in the one-day games, today Pakistan buried the devils of the past to where they belong. Zimbabwe women’s captain Mary-Anne Musonda won the toss and opted to bowl first.
By the end of the tenth over, Zimbabwe had dismissed both the Pakistan openers Muneeba Ali (4) and Ayesha Zafar (14) with 44 runs on the board. But little did they know that they would soon run into the Pakistan captain Javeria Khan who would, once again, pull out her team from dire straits to a commanding position.
Javeria Khan who scored 81, found a strong ally in Aliya Riaz who herself got to a half-century (74). The two ladies took the battle to the Zimbabwean’s. Batting together in tandem for almost 30 overs, they took the Pakistan team to a respectable and defendable total of 255 at a decent run rate of 5.1
Comfortable Win for the Visiting Pakistan by 178 Runs against Zimbabwe Women.
Javeria Khan scored the Most 81 runs and Nida Dar took 3 Wickets. #ZIMWvPAKW | @ImJaveria | @CoolNidadar pic.twitter.com/VLJnSM3rq4
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 9, 2021
In riposte, the Zimbabwe women were very pale in comparison. The Pakistanis were extremely focused and didn’t give the Zimbabweans any breather. Their body language oozed out confidence as they picked up wickets at regular intervals and didn’t let the Zimbabwe women build momentum and create any partnerships. The very fact that only 2 players Pellagia Mujaji (16) and Precious Marange (13) scored in double digits is indicative of the tight rein that the Pakistanis held over the Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwe team was bundled out for a measly 77 runs to give the Pakistan team a victory margin of 178 runs. Nida Dar was the pick of the bowlers bowling 3 maidens, giving away only 9 runs, and picking up 2 wickets. The victory today will definitely go a long way in instilling confidence in the young Pakistan team, who after the drubbing in the South Africa tour must have started to doubt their own potential.
The two sides will now meet on 11th February at the same venue, with Zimbabwe hoping to square the series as a victory on the 11th for Pakistan will seal the fate of the series.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 255/6 in 50 overs (Javeria Khan 81, Aliya Riaz 74; Nomvelo Sibanda 2/28, Esther Mbofana 2/42) beat Zimbabwe 77 in 34.1 overs (Pellagia Mujaji 16, Precious Marange 13; Nida Dar 2/9, Sadia Iqbal 2/8) by 178 runs.
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