Pakistan captain Fatima Sana’s all-round show helped Conquerors beat the Challengers in the National Women's T20 Cup on Tuesday, March 31.
Fatima Sana follows up record-breaking South Africa tour with all-round brilliance in National T20 Cup
Fatima Sana blasted her way to a 33-ball 91, featuring 10 fours and six maximums to help her side post 241 runs in 20 overs. She then picked up three wickets with the ball to complete a 16-run win for her side.
The Conquerors won the toss and their all-rounder captain chose to bat first. Komal Khan and Samiya Afsar added a quick 92 runs for the opening wicket to set up a great platform for the batters to follow. Ayesha Zafar cashed in on it, scoring 57 runs off 22 deliveries, with the help of nine fours and two sixes.
Fatima Sana then took over, adding an unbeaten 112 runs for the fifth wicket with Hafsa Khalid, to lead their side to a huge total. The 241-run total posted by the Conquerors is the highest in women’s T20s in Pakistan.
In reply, the Challengers were jolted early when opener Aman Fatima was sent back for a golden duck by Fatima. But No.3 Natalia Parvez’s 17-ball 39 kept their hopes alive. Eyman Fatima, who walked out next, went on to hit a century, scoring 112 off 57 balls, including 14 fours and five sixes.
Sidra Nawaz played a handy knock of 32-ball 60, keeping her side in the hunt. But Parvez was sent back by Fatima Sana, putting a lid on the Challengers’ hopes of chasing down the huge total. They eventually finished at 225-6 in 20 overs, losing by 16 runs. The Pakistan captain finished with 3-33 in her four overs to take home the player of the match award.
Fatima recently had a highly fruitful tour of South Africa, scoring 146 runs in the three-T20I series, which is the highest run aggregate by any batter - male or female - in a bilateral three-match T20I series from No.6 or lower. She also picked up two wickets.
She then broke the record for the fastest 50+ score for Pakistan in women’s ODIs twice. In the second match of the series, she hit a 36-ball 52 before hitting 60 off 41 in the third game to lead Pakistan to their biggest ODI win over South Africa, while also picking up four wickets in the series.
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