Pakistan were all set to chase South Africa’s daunting 313-run total, but fell 25 runs short in their second one-day international (ODI) pre- Women’s World Cup ODI encounter in Lahore.
A spectacular knock by Sidra Amin, who brought up her second consecutive century of the series, brought them close, but in the end, the Duckworth-Lewis method adjusted 313-run target was a step too far.
Set a mammoth score to chase after the Proteas batters ruled the roost in the first innings, Sidra stepped up again under the Gaddafi Stadium lights to score a sublime hundred — but failed to close the chase.
What could have been a night to remember for the fans in the rain-affected ODI clash saw the Women in Green falter in the final stages of the chase — which, if they had come through, would have been their second-highest chase ever.
The match saw the Proteas reach 292-3 in 46 overs before the total was adjusted to 313 according to the D/L method after a disruption in play as the Pakistani bowlers had a forgettable day with the ball.
Player of the match and opening batter Tazmin Brits continued her dominant run with the bat — notching up a mammoth unbeaten 171 in just deliveries.
Proteas skipper Laura Wolvaardt ably supported Brits with a hundred of her own as the two batters set up the third-highest Women-ODI opening partnership of all time of 260.
Pacer Diana Baig was the only Pakistan bowler to get wickets, ending up with figures of 2-45 off her five overs as the spinners went wicketless.
Speaking to Dawn.com in the build-up to the World Cup, Pakistan bowling coach Junaid Khan had termed the fast-bowling line-up of the team as a much-improved unit.
“No doubt our spinners were number one in the world, but now the fast bowlers have also stepped up — I applied my learnings from my recent experience in international cricket — I helped them apply their skills and we saw the results in the World Cup Qualifiers as well,” Junaid said in an interview at the National Stadium in Karachi last month.
Pakistan’s chase
The Pakistan reply saw the early fall of the in-form left-hand bat Muneeba Ali to the medium pace of Marizanne Kapp.
Omaima Sohail — returning to the side, hit a quick-fire 43 of 38 deliveries before falling to Masabata Klaas.
Sidra stepped up yet again to get 122 of just 110 deliveries — but after her fall, the lower order failed to complete the job.
The Women in Green slipped from 247-4 to 287 all out, falling 25 runs short.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bowl first in their second ODI of the series.
South Africa had sailed to an easy victory over Pakistan after chasing down a target of 256 to win by eight wickets in the first ODI of their series in Lahore on Tuesday.
The ODIs are being staged at the Gaddafi Stadium on September 16, 19 and 22, with the first ball of all matches to be bowled at 3:30pm.
Pakistan’s 15-member squad is captained by Fatima, while Laura Wolvaardt leads the visiting side. In the build-up to the series, Pakistan held a two-week pre-series camp in Lahore, which included practice sessions and scenario-based matches.
The squad features one uncapped player, Eyman Fatima, who recently made her T20I debut against Ireland in Dublin in August.
The series provides both sides with an opportunity to finalise preparations for the eight-team World Cup, set to take place from September 30 to November 2 in India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka.
In head-to-head, in 28 ODI matches, South Africa had an upper hand against Pakistan, but the last time both sides met, Pakistan defeated South Africa by eight wickets in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 series fixture at the National Stadium in Karachi on September 14, 2023.
