PAK-W vs ZIM-W: Eyman Fatima's maiden fifty helps Pakistan seal series in Karachi

Pakistan women took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20I series against Zimbabwe women with a 67-run win in the second match on Thursday, May 14 at National Stadium, Karachi. After the coin fell in captain Fatima Sana’s favour, Pakistan posted a good score of 170/4 in their allotted 20 overs, riding on a maiden T20I half-century from Eyman Fatima.

Muneeba Ali (36 off 33) and Natalia Pervaiz (24 off 19) also made valuable contributions. In reply, Zimbabwe’s chase could never get going, and they were restricted to 103/8 in their 20 overs. Nashra Sandhu emerged as the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, while Natalia Pervaiz (1/9, 2 overs), Ayesha Zafar (1/10, 3 overs), Sadia Iqbal (1/10, 3 overs), Tuba Hassan (1/17, 4 overs) and Fatima Sana (1/22, 3 overs) scalped one wicket each.

Meanwhile, following their win, Pakistan sealed the series 2-0 with the final T20I set to be played on Friday, May 15 at the same venue.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Eyman Fatima was adjudged Player of the Match for her maiden T20I half-century. She completed her milestone in 32 deliveries and slammed ten fours and four sixes in her innings.

Turning Point

Pakistan were on 92/4 after 13.2 overs and seemed to be motoring along towards a score of above 140. However, Eyman Fatima and Natalia Pervaiz stitched a breathtaking 78-run stand off just 40 balls, which guided their team to a good score of 170. Their partnership allowed Pakistan to finish their innings on a high, and they carried that momentum into their bowling as well, running through Zimbabwe’s batting in the second innings.

What did the captains say?:

Winning Captain, Fatima Sana (Pakistan Women):  

(On her batting form and whether she might bat higher in the order) "Everything else is going well, and all things are fine, but one thing missing right now is my batting. I haven’t been getting many opportunities with the bat lately. We have been thinking about giving chances in different positions, so let’s see, Inshallah, maybe in the next match.

(On giving opportunities to youngsters like Eyman Fatima) This is exactly what we wanted - when we give youngsters opportunities, we want them to create an impact. The way Eyman created that impact was really impressive because initially, we were not able to capitalize properly in the Powerplay. Her comeback innings changed the momentum for us.

(On whether the pitch was difficult for batting) I think credit also goes to the opposition bowlers for the way they bowled. Our batters struggled a little bit at the start as well. But as batters, our effort was to reduce the pressure as much as possible and build the innings gradually. Inshallah, we will try our best to continue this momentum going forward, especially towards the World Cup."

Losing Captain, Nomvelo Sibanda (Zimbabwe Women):

"(What went wrong?) We started really well in the field. But 7-8 overs down the line we lost concentration a bit. But we talked to our coaches and most of them thought that we did decently today. 

(On promoting Biza up in the order) We had given (Beloved) Biza the green light to go for the big hits. (Plans for the last game of the tour that is tomorrow?) We will want to finish on a high. We would like to do well and finish with some positives.