First T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand, December 3
With a 7-wicket victory over the hosts in the first Twenty20 International in Dunedin, the Pakistan women’s tour of New Zealand got off to a winning start. With her outstanding bowling stats of 3–18, Fatima Sana held New Zealand to 127/6 before the top five Pakistani batsmen made valuable contributions to help secure the victory in the penultimate over of the chase.
After deciding to bat, Suzie Bates and Bernadine Bezuidenhout amassed 33 runs apiece and scored four boundaries during the powerplay, as New Zealand got off to a solid start. However, Sana, who entered the game in the sixth over, made sure that progress was made quickly.
In her first three overs, she struck once, first taking Bezuidenhout’s wicket to break the opening stand and then sending Kate Anderson and Bates back to the hut. Maddy Green scored 43 not out off of 28 balls, but Pakistan kept things tight and did not give easy runs as New Zealand finished with just over 120.
Shawaal Zulfiqar and Muneeba Ali, the Pakistani openers, started the chase cautiously, scoring just nine runs in the first three overs before they started hitting the boundaries. However, Muneeba only managed to score 39 in the first eight overs, and Sophie Devine removed her in the ninth over, ending her stay.
Pakistan was under pressure to score 83 runs in the final 11 overs, but Nida Dar and Shawaal hit some crucial boundaries, with the former even hitting Lea Tahuhu for a six. In consecutive overs, New Zealand struck when Nida was dismissed for 23 off 14 balls and Shawaal was dismissed for 42 balls. However, Bismah Maroof (13* off 18) and Aliya Riaz (unbeaten 25 off 12) made sure there were no more difficulties.
Brief scores: Pakistan 132/3 in 18.2 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 41, Aliya Riaz 25*; Sophie Devine 2-23) defeated New Zealand 127/6 in 20 overs (Maddy Green 43, Suzie Bates 28; Fatima Sana 3-18) by 7 wickets.
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