Women's World Cup: Rain plays spoilsport as Pakistan denied maiden win over England

Colombo, Oct 15 (IANS) Pakistan were left heartbroken as persistent rain washed away their hopes of a historic first-ever win over England in Women’s ODIs, with the ICC Women’s World Cup clash at R. Premadasa Stadium ending in a no-result on Wednesday.  

Pakistan were cruising at 34 for no loss in 6.4 overs, chasing a revised target of 113 from 31 overs (DLS), when the heavens opened up again, forcing the umpires to call off the contest. The two teams shared points — a result that dents Pakistan’s chances of a semifinal berth after their third washout of the tournament.

Earlier, Fatima Sana had delivered a spell to remember, claiming 4 for 27 in a devastating opening burst that rattled England’s top order and restricted them to 133 for 9 in 31 overs in a rain-curtailed innings.

After Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and opted to field under overcast skies, she led by example with the new ball, extracting swing and seam movement to dismantle the English top order. 

The right-arm seamer dismissed Amy Jones, Heather Knight, and Nat Sciver-Brunt in her first spell, after Diana Baig had earlier cleaned up Tammy Beaumont, leaving England reeling at 39 for 4 after 6.4 overs.

There was brief resistance from Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley, who added 15 runs for the fifth wicket, but Sadia Iqbal (2/16) soon struck twice — bowling Lamb with a quicker arm ball before trapping Dunkley lbw — as England slipped further to 79 for 7 after 25 overs.

Heavy rain halted play for nearly three hours, forcing a reduction to 31 overs per side once conditions improved. Resuming at 79 for 7, Charlie Dean (33) and Emily Arlott (run out 21) stitched together a vital 46-run eighth-wicket stand to push England past the 130-mark. Dean fell in the final over, chipping a delivery to short fine leg, as England managed 8 runs off the last over to close at 133 for 9.

With England losing nine wickets before the rain break, the DLS calculation reduced Pakistan’s target to 113, taking into account the depleted “resources” available to the batting side.

When play resumed, Muneeba Ali (9 not out) and Omaima Sohail (19 not out) got Pakistan off to a strong start before rain intervened yet again.

For Pakistan, the shared points bring little comfort — this marks their third abandoned match of the tournament, leaving their semifinal hopes hanging by a thread as they look ahead to must-win fixtures in the remaining league stage.

Brief scores: 

England 133/9 in 31 overs (Charlie Dean 33, Heather Knight 18; Fatima Sana 4/27, Sadia Iqbal 2/16) vs Pakistan 34/0 in 6.4 overs (Muneeba Ali 9*, Omaima Sohail 19*). Match ends in no result

--IANS

hs/bsk/