Rain halted play yet again in Colombo shortly after Pakistan lost their fifth wicket against New Zealand in their ICC Women’s World Cup encounter on Saturday.
In a must-win clash to keep alive their faint semi-final hopes, Pakistan were 92-5 after 25 overs when showers forced the players off the pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
An earlier stoppage in play due to the rain had reduced the innings to 46 overs a side with a 9-over play as Pakistan returned to continue their batting from 52-3.
Earlier, Pakistan were put into bat after losing the toss and were unchanged from their last encounter against England on Wednesday.
Opener Muneeba Ali got off to a great start — hitting a boundary off the first ball of the innings by clipping a wayward delivery to get off the mark.
She also got a reprieve when wicket-keeper Isabella Gaze dropped her in the second over of the bowling of Jess Kerr.
However, she could not capitalise on that chance with a big score as she fell for just 22, shortly after Pakistan lost Omaima Sohail.
Muneeba got out courtesy of an excellent catch by Suzie Bates at short mid-wicket, while Omaima fell victim to Lea Tahuhu’s pace — getting trapped lbw on one that skidded on.
Tahuhu continued to trouble the Pakistani batters with her brisk bowling, and the in-form Sidra Amin was her next scalp.
Sidra got out while cutting one straight to point after getting a boundary in the previous over by Sophie Devine.
That was the last delivery bowled before the heavens opened up yet again in the Sri Lankan capital — which has already seen two washouts this week and is in the midst of the monsoon season.
Asked about their batting woes in the tournament so far, Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana said at the toss: “Our batting will hopefully execute better today.”
For New Zealand, Lea Tahuhu replaced Bree Illing. Skipper Devine, explaining the decision to bowl first, said, “We want to have first crack at the track, especially with rain around.”
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s hopes of a first victory at the World Cup were hit by rain, with their crucial fixture against England being abandoned after a second downpour in Colombo.
Chasing a revised target of 113 to win after earlier rains had reduced the match to 31 overs per side, Pakistan were well on their way at 34-0 in 6.4 overs when rains returned to end any chance of the match being completed — saving England from their first ever loss against the Green Shirts.
Opener Omaima Sohail said on Friday that the team was still looking forward to a chance to make the semi-finals of the tournament.
The Kiwis also go into the encounter with a washout of their own against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The match got called off after Sri Lanka scored a daunting 258-6 batting first.
Teams:
Pakistan: Omaima Sohail, Muneeba Ali, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper), Fatima Sana (captain), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, and Sadia Iqbal.
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (capt), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, and Lea Tahuhu.
