LAHORE
Bismah Maroof (99) and Anam Amin (3 wickets) guided Pakistan Women to a 57-run victory against South Africa Women in the first ODI in Sharjah.
Pakistan, opting to bat, lost their opener Marina Iqbal early, but Bismah (99) and Javeria Khan (49) bounced back well and contributed significant 88 runs for the second-wicket partnership. Leg-spinner Sune Luus bowled well for South Africa sliced through Pakistan's top order with four wickets for 38, but Bismah led another recovery, this time combining with Asmavia Iqbal for a sixth-wicket association which yielded 74 runs. Bismah batted for nearly three hours, striking three fours, but was run out one short of a century, as Pakistan compiled 216-9.
Several South African players made starts during the chase, but their inability to convert them into a much-needed fifty hurt the team. Their opener Trisha Chetty was the only player to score more than 30, as Sana Mir’s 2-22 and Anam Amin’s 3-24 kept pegging them back at regular intervals.
Bismah, who was declared player of the match, capped off a fine performance by snaring the wicket of Luus, while Asmavia and Nida Dar claimed a scalp each, restricting South Africa to 159-9.
BRIEF SCORES: Pakistan Women: 216-6 (Maroof 99, Javeria 49, Luus 4-38) South Africa Women: 159-9 (Chetty 32, Amin 3-24).