Pakistan thrashed Hong Kong by 72 runs in Dubai on Monday, and closed their Women’s Asia Cup group campaign with a statement performance that books a semi-final meeting with Sri Lanka on Friday.
Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu returned figures of six for seven. It is the best bowling figures recorded by a Pakistan bowler in a women’s T20I, as Hong Kong folded for 71 in 19 overs while chasing 144.
Nashra Sandhu Rewrites Pakistan’s Bowling Record Book
Sandhu entered the attack after the powerplay, which is when captain Fatima Sana typically turns to her, and Hong Kong never found an answer to her loop and turn. She trapped Yasmin Daswani in a caught-and-bowled chance off a length delivery that gripped and turned away sharply. She then removed Marina Lamplough with a ball that beat the bat and clattered into the stumps, before Maryam Bibi edged behind moments later.
Sandhu saved her most damaging spell for the final over of her quota, and claimed three wickets from five deliveries, including two off consecutive balls. Her figures of six for seven from four overs marked the first six-wicket haul by a Pakistan bowler in the format, and surpassed anything previously achieved by her teammates in a women’s T20I.
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Zulfiqar’s Fighting Innings Lifts Pakistan to 143
Pakistan chose to bat first for the third consecutive match and reached 143 for 8, built largely around a composed innings from Shawaal Zulfiqar. She struck 47 off 35 balls, finding the boundary six times on a surface that offered little pace and made stroke-making difficult. Zulfiqar overcame the early losses of Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza, who both departed cheaply, and put on 47 runs with Ayesha Zafar for the third wicket before Zafar fell in the tenth over.
Zafar contributed 26 off 19 balls, while Fatima Sana remained unbeaten on 24 to steer Pakistan past 140. Once Zulfiqar was dismissed, caught and bowled by Joyleen Kaur in the twelfth over, Pakistan managed only 51 runs from the remaining 8.4 overs, a stretch that exposed the middle order’s struggles against Hong Kong’s spin attack.
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Joyleen Kaur’s Four-Wicket Haul Goes in Vain
Joyleen Kaur produced career-best figures of 4 for 19 for Hong Kong. She used slower deliveries pitched outside the hitting arc to trouble Pakistan’s batters throughout the innings. Her plan brought her four wickets, including Zafar and Zulfiqar, but Hong Kong could not build on her effort once their own chase began.
Fatima Sana removed Mariko Hill inside the first over, and Sadia Iqbal trapped Natasha Miles leg-before in the second, and left Hong Kong reeling early. Kary Chan top-scored with 30 off 47 balls, as she struck four boundaries in an innings that kept Hong Kong afloat briefly, but wickets fell steadily at the other end. Umm-e-Hani accounted for Kaur late in the innings, and Hong Kong were bowled out with a full over unused, handing Pakistan a comprehensive 72-run victory.
The result confirms Pakistan’s place in the last four of the Women’s Asia Cup, where they will face Sri Lanka in Friday’s semi-final, with Sandhu’s record-breaking spell standing as the defining performance of their group-stage run.
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