Pakistan captain Fatima Sana took center stage during the Women’s Asian Cup match against India at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.Sane managed to strike the ball for three wickets as Pakistan were bowled out for just 55. But it was her lively celebration after the dismissal of India opener Shafali Verma that became one of the talking points of the match.The incident occurred on the third ball of the second over of India’s chase. Sana hit a good length ball which bounced a little more than Shafali expected.The young rookie tried to throw a shot towards the leg side but only managed to get through the leading edge. The ball came back to Sane, who held the ball comfortably and completed the catch.Sana immediately turned to Shafali and pointed towards the pavilion, furiously seeing off the Indian batter.Shafali, however, did not react to the celebration and simply walked back to the dressing room. Before being dismissed, she made 12 off six deliveries, hitting one four and one boundary.The removal also drew a sharp remark from commentator Vivek Razdan, who noted the different fates of the two teams.“Okay, you show her the way out. Your entire team just scored 55 and now you are sending Shafali Verma back,” Razdan said on air.
Pakistan batting collapse
Sana Shafali’s dismissal was her third wicket of the innings as the Pakistan captain tried to lead after her own team’s disastrous knock.Pakistan initially felt comfortable after being asked to bat first. Muniba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar got off to a strong start, taking the score to 27 without loss in just over four overs.This progress quickly disappeared as India began to rotate.Young openers Shri Charani and Prema Rawat destroyed Pakistan’s middle order with disciplined spells while Deepti Sharma also joined the attack as Pakistan lost six wickets for just nine runs.Charani, a 22-year-old orthodox left-arm spinner, finished with outstanding figures of 3/7 after four overs. Rawat, a 24-year-old spinner, took 3/9 in four overs.Shafali also contributed with the ball, taking one wicket for 10 runs from three overs, while Depti returned 2/5 from 3.1 overs.Pakistan eventually folded for 55 in 18.1 overs, their lowest score in the history of T20I cricket.India’s bowlers were relentless throughout the innings, bowling an astonishing 78 balls.
India scores another lopsided victory over Pakistan
There was no drama when India started chasing.Shafali was dismissed for 12, Smriti Mandhana for nine and Pratika Rawal for four, with Sana accounting for all three wickets.But after their own collapse, Pakistan had no scoreboard pressure to work with and Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma saw India home comfortably.Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on 18 while Deepti was not out on 12 as India reached the target in just 8.4 overs to complete a seven-wicket win.The result also gave Harmanpreet another milestone. She became the first international cricket captain, both men’s and women’s, to lead India in 150 T20Is.She sealed the win in style with a six on the ground.India entered the competition looking for valuable match practice ahead of the semi-finals, but Pakistan’s collapse turned the match into another one-sided affair.The result extended India’s dominance in the Asia Cup T20 with Indian women now having seven wins over Pakistani women in the history of the tournament.