ISLAMABAD: The Eighth round of National Women’s T20 witnessed lop-sided wins for Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi at different venues in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Friday.

Multan’s decision to bowl first against Lahore backfired as Lahore put up a mammoth total of 200 for the loss of two wickets courtesy of a dominating 183-run opening stand between Ayesha Zafar and Sidra Amin at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Ground.

Ayesha made a quick-fire 113 on just 65 balls while Sidra made an unbeaten 71 off 51 balls.

Ayesha’s innings was studded with 18 boundaries and two sixes before it was brought to halt by spinner Gull-e-Aswa.

Sidra — who recorded eight boundaries in the match — continued her assault and helped Lahore reach the 200 mark with Kaynat Hafeez (five not out) on the other end of the crease.

Multan had an unfortunate start to their innings with three of their top-order players getting run out.

Opener Aleena Massod (three) was run out by Lahore captain Nida Dar and Gull Rukh’s (10) bails were removed by Bismah Maroof before she could make her ground.

Multan’s other opener and captain Gull Feroza top-scored with 36 before she faced the same fate as her other two top-order team-mates.

Gull scored five boundaries but was ran out from a Noreen Yaqoob throw.

After that none of Multan batters could reach double figures and were bundled out on 81 in 16.1 overs handing Lahore a 119-run win.

Ghulam Fatima claimed three wickets for Lahore while Bismah got two.

Meanwhile, Quetta posted a paltry total of 88 for the loss of seven wickets in the stipulated over which Karachi chased down comfortably in 13 overs to register a six-wicket triumph at the Ayub Park Ground in Rawalpindi.

Laiba Mansoor top-scored with an unbeaten 21 for Quetta while opener Dua Majid scored 20. Top-order batters Fareeha Mehmood (three), Khadija Chishti (0) and Jannat Rasheed (six) only added nine runs to the total.

Tuba Hassan (15) broke the pattern before losing her wicket to Syeda Aroob Shah and captain Saima Malik added 11 not out.

Maham Manzoor got three wickets while Aroob took two.

Karachi had a shaky start to their innings losing opener Muneeba Ali (six) but fellow opener Javeria Khan (25) and Omaima Sohail (23 not out) steadied the innings with a 26-run partnership.

Tuba broke the stand removing Javeria while Laiba dismissed captain Fatima Sana (seven).

Tuba then removed Huraina Sajjad (13) but couldn’t deny the inevitable as wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi (seven not out) and Omaima ensured the victory for Karachi.

At Islamabad’s Diamond Cricket Ground, Rawalpindi downed Peshawar by five wickets as they chased the target in only 11.2 overs.

Rawalpindi’s decision to bowl first paid dividends as they restricted Peshawar to a scanty 99 for the loss of six overs in 20 overs.

Peshawar’s skipper Aleena Khan was the only prominent run-getter with 28 off 35 balls.

Peshawar’s poor coordination on the pitch was very evident as four of their batters were run out including opener Raahima Syed (13), Nayab Ishaq (15), Salwa Raheem (one) and Ayesha Afridi (four).

Fellow opener Tahzeeb Shah (four) was dismissed by pacer Humna Bilal while Momina Riyasat (12) lost her wicket to captain Aliya Riaz.

Aleena and wicketkeeper-batter Shabnam Hayat (four not out) brought an end to the innings after dragging the total to 99 in the stipulated 20 overs.

Rawalpindi chased the target in the 12th over, losing five wickets in the process. Farzana Farooq (35 off 22) top-scored until she fell to Aleena.

Aima Saleem (19), Arijah Haseeb (23 not out) and Fajar Naved (12 not out) added some crucial runs to help Rawalpindi over the line.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2024