Play resumed after a two-hour-long stoppage due to rain in Pakistan’s crucial ICC Women’s World Cup fixture against South Africa at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.
The match was reduced to 40 overs a side before play resumed at 5pm PKT.
The Colombo clouds continued to erode Pakistan’s flickering hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup, this time arriving just two overs into their all-important match-up against the Proteas.
Having seen their last two matches being washed out, the Green Shirts need to win to keep their chances alive of a last-four finish in the league stage.
However, Fatima Sana’s side were back in the dugout as soon as the match began, after having won the toss and elected to field, as the heavens opened up.
Moments before the players took cover, Fatima had given Pakistan the start they were looking for when she had opener Tazmin Brits caught for a duck, with South Africa at 6-1 after the first 12 balls.
The Pakistani skipper continued her knack of getting early breakthroughs when she got the dangerous Brits to nick an away swinger to Natalia Parvaiz at first slip.
In a tournament affected by the monsoon rains, the weather in Colombo was overcast at the start of play.
Speaking at the toss, Pakistan captain Fatima said: “It looks like a good pitch for the bowlers and the weather is good, so we’ll bowl first.”
Pakistan are unchanged since their last rained out encounter.
Going into their penultimate group match of the tournament, the Women in Green still have an outside chance of making the semi-finals despite still searching for their first win.
Bowler Rameen Shamim said on Monday that although the weather was out of their control, the team was trying their best to make the semi-finals.
Monsoon rains in Colombo have seen Pakistan’s last two matches end in washouts against England and New Zealand, respectively, costing the team a chance to pick up more points in their last-four push.
The washed-out New Zealand fixture on Saturday saw South Africa become the second team to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament, with the Green Shirts still searching for their first win.
The Green Shirts played a home series in Lahore in September against the Proteas, where they lost the first two games before beating the visitors in the final ODI on a spin-friendly track.
They also faced each other in a World Cup practice match in Colombo ahead of the tournament itself, where the Proteas won by four wickets.
South African pacer Masabata Klaas also alluded to the challenge Pakistan posed going into the encounter.
“Oh, obviously Pakistan is [a] strong team. We cannot just go there and think that we’re just going to walk in the park. But then one thing that’s going to work for us is to stick to basics and do what we’ve been doing from day one of the World Cup,” the right-arm medium pacer said.
She added that her side would not be taking the Green Shirts for granted.
The Proteas go into the clash with a result in a rain-affected encounter in Colombo against Sri Lanka — where they won by 10 wickets in a 20-over contest.
For Pakistan, their skipper Fatima’s form with the ball has been a positive going into this must-win encounter. The right-arm pacer has taken nine wickets at an outstanding average of 16 so far.
The Women in Green will also be looking for the weather to relent in the Sri Lankan capital, which caused their pre-match practice session to be moved indoors yet again — at an alternate venue near the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Teams:
Pakistan: Omaima Sohail, Muneeba Ali, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (captain), Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, and Sadia Iqbal.
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Karabo Meso (wk), Nondumiso Shangase, Ayabonga Khaka, and Nonkululeko Mlaba.
