Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana led Pakistan to their biggest ODI win over South Africa, breaking several records on the way, on Sunday (March 1).
With the ODI series already lost, Pakistan came out flying while batting first in the third and final game. Opener Sadaf Shamas took the attack to South Africa despite losing her partner Gull Feroza in the sixth over.
Sadaf completed her fifty off 40 deliveries and was on her way to a maiden ODI ton before Sune Luus had her caught and bowled, breaking a 130-run partnership between the opener and Sidra Amin, who also fell shortly after.
Fatima Sana stars for Pakistan again
Sana walked in after 39 overs, with Pakistan at 216-5. She went on to hit a second consecutive fifty, hitting 60 runs off 41 deliveries, featuring three fours and five maximums. Her counter-attack took Pakistan to 306-8 in 50 overs, their third-highest ODI score ever.
Her knock was the fastest-ever 50+ score for Pakistan in women's ODIs, with a strike-rate of 146.34, beating her own record that she set in the second ODI of the series, where she scored 52 off 36.
South Africa’s chase never took off, with Tasmia Rubab getting the better of Tazmin Brits in the first over. Sana opened the bowling with Rubab, then removed both Laura Wolvaardt and Luus in the second over to reduce the Proteas to 7-3.
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Faye Tunnicliffe and Annerie Dercksen stabilised the innings, adding 85 runs for the fourth wicket before the former fell three short of a half-century. Dercksen would go on to complete her fifty, in a 50-run stand with Sinalo Jafta.
But the duo fell within five runs and six balls of each other, reducing the home side to 147-6. The last four South Africa wickets put on 40 runs as Pakistan completed a 119-run win, their biggest in ODIs over the Proteas.
Sana scored 117 runs in three ODIs at 39 and a strike-rate of 136.04 – the highest for anyone with at least 100 runs in the series. She also picked up four wickets at 37 each. With this, she became the first woman from Pakistan to score more than 100 runs at better than run-a-ball (where records are available) and take more than four wickets in an ODI series.
3rd ODI, South Africa Women vs Pakistan Women
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The Pakistan captain was in top form in the preceding T20I series as well, playing knocks of 90 (41) and 47 (30) in the first and third games, respectively, to finish as the series’ top-scorer with 146 runs - the highest run-aggregate by any batter, across men's and women's cricket, in a bilateral three-match T20I series from No.6 or lower. She also took two wickets even as Pakistan went down 2-1.
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