LAHORE - Pakistan women team captain Sana Mir was all positive while talking about her future ambitions. She is all set to give South Africa a tough time in the third round of the tournament.
“The second round result boosted our confidence a great deal, we are hopeful to give tough time to South Africa on the same venue in March,” Sana said. She was all praise for the team and said she was extremely happy with the form of her team and the spirit they have shown.
The caption was of the opinion that the championship was a great opportunity, as the players gained a lot of experience when they played against top teams in the world. “The championship is special to us as it gives us the opportunity to play with top teams in the world,” she added.
Sana also paid rich tribute to the century maker Javeria Khan, saying that the experienced batswoman showed her class and talent. “The team has been working very hard for a long time and now it has produced good results in the past one year. It has shown resilience in the last one year, the fighting spirit has been amazing, the girls fight till the last ball,” added Sana, who also hit her maiden half century in the third ODI against Sri Lanka.
In the ICC championship, all teams will play each other on home-and-away basis. This round-robin championship will end in 2017, while the top four teams will qualify for the ICC World Cup. The remaining teams will have to go through the qualifiers. The requirement of the tournament is that each team will play each other in one home or away series which will comprise of three ODIs over a two and a half year period. As such, each side is guaranteed to have played at least 21 ODIs over the tournament period.
The first round took place in August last year where Pakistan lost to Australia (3-0). This 3-0 victory against Sri Lanka in the second round pushed Pakistan to fourth position on the table with six points. Pakistan will face South Africa in March in the home series to be played at neutral venue Sharjah. Pakistan team will travel to the West Indies for the fourth round.