Women's T20 WC: 140 would have been a good score against India, says Fatima Sana

Dubai, Oct  (IANS) Pakistan captain Fatima Sana conceded that if her side would have reached 130-140, it would have been a good total after electing to bat first against India in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup.

On a slow and low pitch at the Dubai International Stadium, Pakistan could only make 105/8, thanks to a disciplined Indian bowling line-up. In reply, despite India huffing and puffing in their chase, they managed to complete it in 18.5 overs.

“We were short by 10 to 15 runs with the bat because the pitches were slow. If we had gone to a maximum of 130-140 on this pitch, it would have been a good score. We didn't utilise powerplay as we should have so I think that is where our performance was affected,” said Fatima in the post-match press conference.

Asked on frequent batting collapses of Pakistan, Fatima, who had figures of 2/23 in her four overs and made 13 runs off eight balls, replied, “In such big events, you expect that such senior players perform well - of course.”

“But we should keep giving chances to the batters so that they can play their best cricket. Because we know that people wait for such big events. We will try our best to sit together, discuss and see what to plan now.”

She also felt Pakistan could have got India under more pressure after she dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh in quick succession. “To be honest, it was not about the run rate, but we could have caught them from here. I have seen many teams that have lost very close matches. The situation was like that.”

“We tried to take maximum wickets there. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. But the girls fought well. We tried to take as many wickets as possible so that we can do it in our favour. But unfortunately, that didn't happen.”