Ayesha Zafar, Kainat Imtiaz lead Strikers to first win, Challengers remain unbeaten in Pakistan Cup One Day

Well-crafted half-centuries by Ayesha Zafar and Kainat Imtiaz led the Strikers to their first win in the Pakistan Cup One Day 2021-22 as Muneeba Ali’s fighting knock of 51 was not enough for the Dynamites. Meanwhile, at the Oval Academy Ground in Karachi, Challengers defeated Blasters by six wickets to remain unbeaten in the tournament on Monday (September 13).



At the National Stadium in Karachi, Zafar and Javeria Rauf started well for Strikers as they shared an opening partnership of 77 runs. Rauf and Hafsa Khalid were dismissed in quick succession by leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima by the time score reached 84. Zafar scored 65 runs off 105 balls and she was well supported by captain Imtiaz, who chipped in with 57 runs off 121 balls. After a slight wobble in the middle order, Strikers recovered to reach the score of 237 for eight in their 50 overs. For Dynamites, Fatima and Maham Tariq picked up two wickets each.



In reply, Dynamites got off to a steady start as the opening pair of Ali and Sadaf Shamas added 40 runs together. From the strong position of 112 for two, Dynamites lost five wickets for just nine runs and couldn’t recover from it. Nashra Sandhu batted for 59 balls but she could only add 16 runs to the total. Tooba Hassan was the destroyer-in-chief as she took four wickets giving away only 28 runs.



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In the second match of the day, Blasters were in disarray early on as Challengers' bowler Waheeda Akhtar ran through their batting order to reduce them to six for four. Even though captain Sidra Nawaz tried to halt the flurry of wickets, she could only add 19 runs to the team total before getting bowled by Syeda Masooma Zahra. Fatima Sana became Akhtar's fourth wicket as she finished with figures of four for 11 from her nine overs. Blasters were bundled out for 59 in the 32nd over.



Challengers started their chase on a shaky note with Nida Dar taking three wickets. Despite Dar's best efforts, Blasters couldn't prevent Challengers from chasing down the modest total in 21 overs. Sidra Amin (25) and Iram Javed (18) remained unbeaten to see their side home to a comfortable win by six wickets.



Brief Scores



Strikers 237/8 in 50 overs (Ayesha Zafar 65, Kainat Imtiaz 57; Ghulam Fatima 2/30) beat Dynamites 172 all out in 43.2 overs (Muneeba Ali 51, Aliya Riaz 29; Tooba Hassan 4/28) by 65 runs



Blasters 59/10 in 31.2 overs (Sidra Nawaz 19, Noreen Yaqub 12; Waheeda Akhtar 4/11) lost to Challengers 60/4 in 21 overs (Sidra Amin 25*, Iram Javed 18*) by six wickets