DUBAI: Riding high on confidence after the opening win against Sri Lanka, skipper Fatima Sana has vowed to keep attacking as Pakistan take on arch-rivals India in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.

“I have been watching that whichever team we played against — played attacking cricket,” Sana told reporters on Saturday. “I want our team to have batters who can punish the bowler from the first ball. We have worked a lot on this and you will see the result soon hopefully.”Sana walked in at No.7 in the opening game against Sri Lanka, smashing a 20-ball 30 to give Pakistan’s total a final push.

The knock proved to be decisive as Pakistan trumped their Asian counterparts by 31 runs with Sana becoming the second-youngest captain after Meg Lanning to win a Women’s T20 World Cup match.

The skipper hailed the influence of the power-hitting coach, that has overseen Pakistan’s new approach to batting in T20s.

“If you look at the last series of South Africa, a lot of our girls have improved in power-hitting,” she said.

“I think the girls believe that even if the fielders are standing behind, if they hit, they can go for six. It’s a good thing that all the girls are confident in this.”

India, meanwhile, are looking for a fresh start and bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi backed her side to bounce back from the 58-run defeat to New Zealand where their bowlers failed to fire.

“It’s basically just believing in your processes, what has worked for you so far,” Salvi told a press conference. “I mean, what is the sample size of certain things working for you? We just go by it.

“And for the bowling unit, obviously, they need to stay strong, stay united and stay focused on the next challenges that they will face upon.

“At the same time, they should be, I mean, whatever they have been following so far, what’s been working well for them, they just go with that. So, it’s just one odd game where probably someone might have gone for runs.”

Though India have a head-to-head edge over their rivals in T20Is, winning 12 out of 15 matches so far, Pakistan have the ammunition to stun any opposition.

Their bowling is especially formidable with the likes of experienced Nida Dar, Fatima and Sadia Iqbal leading the pack. However, Pakistan will keep a close eye on the fitness of leading pacer Diana Baig after she suffered a calf strain in the match against Sri Lanka, limping out after bowling just one ball.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2024