Alam, Kubra star with the ball as Bangladesh sneak past Pakistan

Khadija-Tul Kubra (3/11) and Jahanara Alam (4/22) shared seven wickets between them as Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final T20 World Cup warm-up match on Thursday (February 20) at the Alan Border Field in Brisbane. Needing 10 runs off the last over bowled by Alam, Pakistan could only manage four losing their last two wickets to fall short. The tournament starts on Friday (February 21) with hosts Australia taking on India in the opener.

Chasing a modest 112 for victory, Pakistan didn’t have the best of the start losing Ayesha Nassem (one), skipper Bismah Maroof (two) and Omaima Sohail (four) cheaply with just 18 runs on board. Opener Javeria Khan and Nida Dar then stuck together for a 27-run partnership before Panna Ghosh (1/10) accounted for the latter for 14.

With almost half of the side back in the hut, it seemed Khan would take her team considering the fact, the kind of form she was displaying. But things were meant for otherwise as Khan dismissed by Kubra for a well-made 41, caught by Fargana Hoque with Pakistan still needing 34 runs for the win. Although Aliya Riaz (18) tried towards the end but it wasn’t enough as the Bangladeshi bowlers put more pressure on the opposition as wickets tumbled at regular intervals to snatch the game.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Bangladesh too had a similar fate losing three quick wickets Shamima Sultana (three), Sanjida Islam (duck) and Nigar Sultana (13) – upfront. Hoque (21) joined opener Murshida Khatun (43) to resurrect the innings and the duo added 52 runs for the fourth wicket to steady the ship. Ritu Moni hit an unbeaten 14 towards the end as Bangladesh ended at 111 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Aiman Anwer was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with two wickets for 12 runs.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 111/8 in 20 overs (Murshida Khatun 43; Aiman Anwer 2/12) beat Pakistan 106 all out in 19.4 overs (Javeria Khan 41; Jahanara Alam 4/22, Khadija-Tul Kubra 3/11) by five runs.