PAKISTAN’S players got close but it was not enough. Victory for Sri Lanka, thanks to a superb innings by Chamari Athapaththu on the penultimate ball on Friday, denied Pakistan a spot in the final of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. The experience and guile of Sadia Iqbal had kept Pakistan in the hunt after the spinner claimed four wickets to derail Sri Lanka’s chase of 141. But Chamari Athapaththu kept her nerve to take Sri Lanka into the final against India. Sri Lanka had also beaten Pakistan in the semis of the previous edition of the tournament by one run. The pain of this one, though, will linger. Pakistan had their chances but could not avail them. The players were in tears at the end, being consoled by the support staff off Sri Lanka’s Dambulla ground. However, the team can take heart from the fact that they fought till the end. It was heartening to see the PCB chairman gushing with pride at the team’s resilience immediately after the game ended. That’s the sort of backing the team needs to go forward.

Ahead of the semi-final, the recently installed Pakistan head coach Mohammad Wasim stressed that he had given the players the licence to play attacking cricket. Wasim had been handed the reins in a bid to overturn the fortunes of a struggling team. Pakistan had lost the series against both the West Indies and England heading into the tournament, and confidence and hopes were low. After opening with a loss to India, Pakistan beat both Nepal and the UAE to finish second in their group before ultimately going down fighting against Sri Lanka. With Wasim having been able to inject a sense of aggression into Pakistan’s style of play, things may improve for the women’s team. What is needed is more consistency in all matters — from selection to training — so that the near-misses become less frequent.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2024