Stars and Invincibles got back to winning ways by beating Challengers and Strikers in the second round of the National Women’s One-Day Tournament at the HPC Ground and Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Sunday.
Left-arm spinner Anam Amin returned impressive figures of 5-34 as Challengers were bowled out for 150 in 37.2 overs in pursuit of the 188-run target set by Stars at the HPC Ground, Faisalabad.
Challengers looked well on their way to chase the target before slipping from 101-2 as they lost eight wickets for 49 runs.
Opening batter Sadaf Shamas fell five runs short of her century (95) but couldn’t find support from the other Challengers batters after Huraina Sajjad’s (32) departure. The duo had shared an 89-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Stars’ Syeda Aroob Shah chipped in with all-round contribution of 2-20 in six overs and a 47-ball 42, hitting five fours and one six after walking in to bat at 112-3. Sidra Amin contributed 40 off 56 balls after the opening batters Gull Rukh (24) and Omaima Sohail (16) put on a 30-run opening stand.
For Challengers, Aleena Shah, Rameen Shamim and Neha Sharmin Nadeem picked up two wickets each.
At the Iqbal Stadium, Invincibles made light work of Strikers as they hunted down the 113-run target with 175 balls to spare and eight wickets in the bag.
After opting to bat first, Strikers were 58-2 before their innings ran into trouble as they only managed 112, with Aliya Riaz top-scoring with 31 off 59 balls, hitting two fours. Invincibles’ Momina Riasat and Tasmia Rubab picked up three wickets each, while Tuba Hassan and Neelam Mushtaq dismissed two batters each.
In turn, Muneeba Ali anchored the chase with a 69-ball 80, hitting 14 fours and one six, while also sharing an 103-run stand with Dua Majid (28 not out).
