KARACHI: Centuries by Iram Javed and Omaima Sohail guided Invincibles to a 19-run win over Challengers in the fifth round of the National Women’s One-Day Tournament here at the UBL Sports Complex on Monday.

After being put in to bat, Invincibles on the back of Iram (126) and Omaima (110 not out) centuries posted a solid 286 for six off the stipulated 50 overs. Iram faced 97 balls and struck six fours and 11 sixes while Omaima in her 144-ball stay cracked 13 fours.

Challengers’ Zaib-un-Nisa Niaz took three wickets for 38 runs.

In reply, half-centuries from Gull Rukh (71 off 103 balls, nine fours) and Aliya Riaz (51 off 42, five fours, two sixes) were not enough to steer Challengers to victory.

Noor-ul-Iman (3-15), Omaima (2-61) and Ghulam Fatima (2-66) clai­med wickets for Invincibles. Omaima was named player-of-the-match.

A captain’s innings by Sidra Amin (53 off 43 balls, 10 fours and a six) led Stars to a three-wicket win over Conquerors at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Oval Ground at the National Bank Stadium.

Batting first, Conquerors posted a modest 122 all out in 46.5 overs with Najiha Alvi top-scoring with a 73-ball 31. Stars’ Tuba Hassan bagged three wickets while Rameen Shamim and Waheeda Akhtar snapped two wickets apiece.

In reply, Stars achieved the target in 33.1 overs with three wickets in hand. Sidra Amin struck 53 and was declared player-of-the-match. Conquerors’ off-spinner Mahnoor Aftab took six wickets for 28 off her 10 overs but could not prevent Stars from winning.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to curtail the National Women’s One-Day Tournament following a fire incident at the team hotel in Karachi.

Fortunately, no players were injured as the PCB promptly evacuated the five players in the hotel at the time of the incident and relocated them safely to the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre.

The decision to truncate the tournament was made with the health and safety of the players as the top priority. Additionally, the unavailability of alternative accommodations to meet the approximately 100 rooms of the required standards for contributed to this outcome.

To determine the tournament winner, the PCB has decided that the Invincibles and the Stars — the top two teams after four matches each — will face off in the final. The date and venue for the final will be announced in due course.

Scores in brief:

Invincibles beat Challengers by 19 runs.

INVINCIBLES 286-6 in 50 overs (Iram Javed 126, Omaima Sohail 110 not out; Zaib-un-Nisa Niaz 3-38); CHALLENGERS 267-9 in 50 overs (Gull Rukh 71, Aliya Riaz 51, Yusra Amir 36, Natalia Parvaiz 33; Noor-ul-Iman 3-15, Omaima Sohail 2-61, Ghulam Fatima 2-66)

Stars beat Conquerors by three wickets.

CONQUERORS 122 in 46.5 overs (Najiha Alvi 31, Syeda Aroob Shah 28; Tuba Hassan 3-22, Rameen Shamim 2-15, Waheeda Akhtar 2-25); STARS 123-7 in 33.1 overs (Sidra Amin 53; Mahnoor Aftab 6-28, Fatima Sana 1-23).

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2024