Women’s Asia Cup: Nida five-for helps Pakistan down Sri Lanka

Pakistan’s Nida Dar was on fire on Wednesday as she claimed five wickets to help Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by 23 runs to record Pakistan’s second win in the Women’s Asia Cup.

Nida’s spell ensured Sri Lanka were restricted to only 113-9 after Pakistan had posted 136-4 after electing to bat first.

For Pakistan, Bismah Maroof struck seven boundaries to make 60 runs off 41 balls, while opener Nahida Khan made 38 off 34 runs to form a 50-run partnership with Bismah.

For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari took two wickets, while Nilakshi de Silva and Inoka Ranaweera claimed one scalp apiece.

In reply, Nida ran riot and claimed five wickets for just 21 runs, while Bismah and Nashra Sandhu contributed by taking one wicket each.

For Sri Lanka, openers Yasoda Mendis scored 25 runs off 29 balls and Nipuni Hansika scoring 24 off 22 balls were the top scorers.

These were Nida’s best-ever figures and also her first five-wicket haul and the 31-year-old could not be prouder of her achievement.

“I feel really happy and proud. I am glad I contributed to the team’s win. When I took the first three wickets, I had it in my mind that I have one over left and have to take two more wickets to complete my first ever five-wicket haul,” she said. “After bowling three straight overs, I took a break and then came at the end with a fresh mind and that led to the last two wickets.”

Nida reaching these momentous figures was not without drama as she claimed the two wickets off the last two balls of her spell.

“Bowling four balls and conceding six runs including a boundary, I was not sure if I can get wickets. I had two balls left I set field according to the plan I had in mind and then bowled accordingly and got two wickets on the last two balls,” she said.

Expressing her feelings she said, “This is the best moment for me as I have taken the first ever five wicket haul. This is the result of all the hard work we do as a team and the team management for making us better players. It is not just my achievement, its team achievement, everyone celebrated it.”

She further added that she still has more aims to accomplish in her remaining career and this has given her a well-needed and perfectly-timed boost.

Other matches

In an epic upset, Bangladesh managed to inflict India's first ever loss in the Asia Cup when they defeated the reigning champions by seven wickets.