Sunday 29 / December / 2024
Christchurch: England bowlers bundled out Pakistan for 105 before their batters chased down the target with ease to claim a nine-wicket victory in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 here at Hagley Oval on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 106, Tammy Beaumont was sent back to the pavilion after scoring just two runs. Danni Wyatt and captain Heather Knight provided a solid winning platform for England as they stitched a vital partnership. Knight and Wyatt both remained unbeaten on 76 and 24 respectively as celebrations erupted in the England camp with a nine-wicket victory in just 19.2 overs.
Earlier, Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone picked up three wickets each, with the pacer getting the early wickets to peg Pakistan back while the spinner cleaned up the lower-order.
Sidra Ameen and Sidra Nawaz were the only two batters for Pakistan who put up scores of 20+ as the rest of the batting order had no answer to the English bowlers.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Brunt played a major role in restricting Pakistan early on. Brunt struck with the first ball of the match when she dismissed Nahida Khan for a duck and some poor running between the wickets saw Bismah Maroof (9) and Omaima Sohail (11) run out shortly after as Pakistan stumbled to 33/3.
The England team, playing under the leadership of Heather Knight, registered its third consecutive win in the tournament. They now have six points and is close to making it to the semi-finals.
The team has currently reached the fourth place, while India has slipped to number five with the same number of points as England in six matches. England are ahead of India with a better net run rate.
Brief score: Pakistan 105/10 (Sidra Ameen 32, Sidra Nawaz 23; Katherine Brunt 3-17) England 107/1 (Danni Wyatt 76*, Heather Knight 24*; Diana Baig 1-14).
