Nahida stars as Pakistan thump Thailand in Women Asia Cup

KUALA LUMPUR: Nahida Khan and Javeria Khan reach out for a fist pump ACC Two-time Asia Cup runners-up Pakistan pulverised Thailand by eight wickets on the opening day of the 2018 edition courtesy four combined wickets between the spin troika of Sana Mir, Nashra Sandhu and Nida Dar and an unbeaten 38 from Player-of-the-Match Nahida Khan.Pakistan restricted Thailand to 67 for 8 before Nahida and Javeria Khan's unbeaten 24-run stand sealed the chase with nearly seven overs to spare.Thailand captain Sornnarin Tippoch's decision to bat first backfired as only two batsmen - opener Nattakan Chantam and Tippoch herself, in at No. 5 - managed to notch up double-digit scores.Their identical individual tally of 17 proved inadequate in the face of the offspin offensive from Mir and Dar who returned 2 for 7 and 1 for 11 respectively. Left-arm spinner Sandhu removed Chantam inside the Powerplay and later she ran out No. 3 batsman Nattaya Boochatham for a duck.Languishing at 37 for 4 halfway into the innings, Thailand could only add another 30 in the last 10 overs at the expense of another four wickets. While wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz caught Tippoch short of her ground, the pace bowling duo of Diana Baig and Kainat Imtiaz snaffled one lower-order wicket each.Pakistan's chase, however, suffered two jolts inside nine overs as opener Muneeba Ali and captain Bismah Maroof feel for six each. Nahida's unbeaten 38 steered the innings, while Javeria ended her 19-ball 18 with a four, wrapping up the game in the 14th over.Scores: Pakistan women 70 for 2 (Nahida 38, Tippoch 1-9) beat Thailand women 68 (Chantam 17, Tippoch 17, Sana Mir 2-7) by eight wickets.Sri Lanka rout Bangladesh: Sri Lanka kicked off their Women's Asia Cup campaign in style, knocking Bangladesh over for 63 and then chasing down the target with five and a half overs to spare.Shashikala Siriwardene, back in charge of Sri Lanka after four years in the absence of the injured Chamari Atapattu, chose to bowl. Left-arm pacer Udeshika Prabodhani justified the decision almost instantaneously, having Shamima Sultana lbw off the second ball of the match. Partnering her with the new ball was left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari, and she struck in her first over too. Bangladesh, reduced to 10 for 2, found it hard to recover.Any chance they had was destroyed by a flurry of wickets in the 10th and 11th overs: first, the offspin of stand-in captain Siriwardene accounted for Bangladesh's other opener, Ayasha Rahman; then, a double-strike from left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera rocked the middle order and sank the innings.Bangladesh managed to stumble along to the 20th over, playing but three of their allotted balls, but without too many runs to show for their doggedness. Openers Yasoda Mendis and Nipuni Hansika steadily knocked 39 off Sri Lanka's target of 64 to all but seal the game. Offspinner Khadija Tul Kubra kept chipping away, taking three wickets in four tidy overs, but Sri Lanka were never stretched. They cantered home in the 15th over, with six wickets intact.Sri Lanka have been the runners-up four times in the six previous editions of the Asia Cup. This start very much puts them on the path to more success in the tournament. Scores: Sri Lanka 64 for 4 (Hansika 23, Kubra 3-13) beat Bangladesh 63 (Kumari 3-17, Prabodhani 2-6) by six wickets.India outplay Malaysia: Nothing but annihilation can describe India's thumping 142-run win at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (June 3). India Women decimated Malaysia in the opening game of the Women's Asia Cup T20, 2018 to get their campaign off to the brightest of starts after bowling the opposition out for just 27 in 13.4 overs, chasing 170.In a steep chase, India's bowlers ran amok over the Malaysia line-up as no batter managed to enter double digits. Sasha Azmi's 9 was the highest for Malaysia, with as many as six batters copping ducks. Pooja Vastrakar scalped three, while Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav had two apiece.India opted to bat and on the back of Mithali Raj's class, were led to 169 for 3 in their 20 overs. Raj carried her bat through the innings, but was left three short of a century; her 97-run knock comprised of 13 fours and a six. With skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (32), Raj's stand of 86 runs in just 53 balls, gave India the impetus they needed in the middle overs to put them in a position of strength.In the end, it was an easy win for India as they climbed to the top of the table. They face Thailand Women next, while Malaysia are up against a Sri Lankan challenge on Monday. Brief scores: India Women 169/3 in 20 overs (Mithali Raj 97, Harmanpreet Kaur 32) beat Malaysia Women 27 in 13.4 overs (Pooja Vastrakar 3-6) by 142 runs.

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