Sri Lanka push Pakistan's talisman Fatima Sana to breaking point to keep title defence alive

She can weather the storm with the bat, rotate strike, find boundaries with ease, battle cramps, provide breakthroughs when needed, and field with finesse. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana is a superwoman without a cape, and she summoned every ounce of her skill and resilience on the night of the Women’s Asia Cup semifinal against Sri Lanka.

Sana walked in when Pakistan were staring down the barrel at 52 for 4 in 9.5 overs. The latest dismissal was Sadaf Shamas, beaten by the dip and turn of Sri Lanka’s 17-year-old left-arm spinner Chamudi Prabodha. Shamas attempted to manoeuvre her down the ground but missed by a distance as the ball pitched and spun sharply away, allowing wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana to whip off the bails in a flash.

Sana’s task was to rebuild the innings and take Pakistan to a competitive total. She began tentatively, playing six dot balls to assess the surface. What looked like a struggle to get off the mark was, for Sana, a calculated period of reconnaissance. She muscled the next ball down the ground for four and never looked back.

The 24-year-old took on every bowler, especially the Sri Lankan spinners, using her feet to get to the pitch and smother the turn. When she could not meet the ball on the full, she avoided going aerial.

Running hard between the wickets in hot and humid Dubai conditions left her dehydrated and cramping. She sought medical attention multiple times but refused to relent. In conditions arduous for batting, Sana produced an unbeaten 47 off 36 balls, striking four fours and two sixes. Her effort lifted Pakistan to 130 for 5, a total that looked defendable at the halfway mark.

Fatima Sana's spirited fightback nearly ends Sri Lanka's title defence

But her night was far from over. Pakistan needed early breakthroughs, and Sana obliged.

The fielder at fine leg, Shamas, was slightly square when Sana began her second over. The Pakistan captain moved her a few yards to the left and then bowled a delivery targeting Chamari Athapaththu’s pads. The Sri Lanka captain flicked aerially and found Shamas exactly where Sana had placed her. Pakistan’s joy doubled when Sana dismissed Sanjana Kavindi off the very next ball, reducing Sri Lanka to 5 for 2.

Sri Lanka soon slipped to 33 for 4 in 6.2 overs, and Pakistan appeared in control. But Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari then stitched a composed 67-run stand for the fifth wicket and dragged their side back into the contest.

With the game slipping away, Sana intervened again. She removed both Samarawickrama and Dilhari in the 17th over and revived Pakistan’s hopes. But cricket, unlike golf or chess, is not an individual sport. A player can only do so much, and Sana had already done more than most.

Lack of penetration from the other end left her waging a lone battle. One moment of mis-execution undid her hours of hard work. She bowled a waist-high full toss to wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana, and the batter dispatched it over square leg for a six, the first of her international career. Sri Lanka eventually closed out the chase much to the delight of their fans, but not without pushing Pakistan’s talisman to her breaking point.