Invincibles climbed to the top of the table with four points from two matches by defeating Challengers by 30 runs in the fourth match of the National Women’s T20 Tournament at Lahore’s Ghani Glass Cricket Ground on Monday.
Batting first, Invincibles made a brisk start as captain Muneeba Ali and player of the match Gull Feroza raced to 36 in 3.1 overs before Muneeba fell for 12 off 10 balls.
Gull then combined with Maham Anees to add 33 runs for the second wicket, taking the score to 69 in 7.2 overs. Gull was the first of the joint top-scorers to depart after a fluent 43 off 24 balls, striking seven fours.
Maham continued to anchor the innings alongside Iram Javed as the duo stitched together a 64-run stand for the third wicket to propel Invincibles to 133 for two after 15 overs. Maham made 43 off 38 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes, while Iram contributed a 25-ball 35 with three fours and one six.
A late flourish from Noreen Yaqoob and Syeda Aroob Shah helped Invincibles post 168 for five in 20 overs. For Challengers, Neelam Mushtaq returned two for 27 in four overs, while Diana Baig claimed two for 28.
In reply, Challengers were restricted to 138 for eight in their 20 overs.
Their chase got off to a tough start as Sidra Nawaz was run out off the first ball without facing a delivery. Another wicket fell in the fifth over with the score on 27, leaving Challengers on the back foot early in the innings.
Natalia Pervaiz then injected some momentum with a brisk 31 off 17 balls, striking four fours and a six. She also added 24 runs for the fifth wicket with Arijah Haseeb, who top-scored with an unbeaten 37 off 37 balls, including four fours.
After Natalia’s dismissal in the 11th over with Challengers at 85 for five and still needing 84 runs, the chase got off track. With no meaningful support forthcoming from the other end, Challengers eventually fell 30 runs short.
For Invincibles, Noreen backed her batting contribution with figures of two for 25 with the ball, while Momina Riasat also picked up two wickets, conceding 28 runs.
