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Fifties from Nida Dar and Aliya Riaz rescued Pakistan from a precarious 49 for 5, but their total of 201 proved just short of defendable
Bangladesh 202 for 7 (Rumana 50*, Hoque 45, Sandhu 2-24, Sohail 2-44) beat Pakistan 201 for 7 (Dar 87, Riaz 61*, Akter 2-25, Moni 2-36) by three wickets
Having come out of a 21-month-long hiatus in international cricket only earlier this month, Bangladesh pulled off an upset over Pakistan on the opening day of the Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier as allrounder Rumana Ahmed closed out a tight chase of 202 in Harare with an unbeaten 44-ball 50.
Bangladesh’s final-over victory hardly appeared on the horizon when they were 98 for 4, with 104 still needed off 89 balls. Rumana was on 1 off 9 at the time, and Bangladesh had just lost the set Fargana Hoque for a 90-ball 45. Then the required rate climbed to 8.9 with 10 overs to go.
But in Ritu Moni‘s company, Rumana unleashed a counterattack, the pair adding 61 off 59 balls. Moni hammered three back-to-back fours off Fatima Sana in the 45th over before being dismissed for a 37-ball 33.
Omaima Sohail struck twice in the 46th over, leaving Bangladesh needing 41 off the last 24 balls. Then Rumana took control, carting three consecutive fours off Sohail in the 48th. With former captain Salma Khatun also chipping in with an unbeaten 18 off 13, Bangladesh got home with two balls to spare.
Earlier, two wickets apiece from Moni and Nahida Akter and Khatun’s run-out of opener Ayesha Zafar left Pakistan struggling at 49 for 5 after being sent in. Had it not been for the big-hitting allrounder Nida Dar‘s 111-ball 87 at No. 6 and No. 7 Aliya Riaz‘s unbeaten 82-ball 61, Pakistan might have finished well below their final score of 201 for 7. The duo’s 136-run stand was the third-highest in Women’s ODIs for the sixth wicket.
This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.