The dynamic Nida Dar-led Pakistan women’s cricket team is gearing up to face Bangladesh in an exciting showdown on Wednesday, marking the commencement of a thrilling three-T20I series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
The T20I series unfolds with the first encounter on 25 October, followed by two more matches at the same venue on 27 and 29 October. Subsequently, three One Day Internationals (ODIs), which are integral to the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, are scheduled at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on 4, 7, and 10 November.
All of these six matches will be available for live streaming on the Bangladesh Cricket Board YouTube channel. The T20I matches will see the toss at 1600 local time, with the first ball delivered at 1630 local time. In contrast, the ODIs are set to kick off at 0930 local time, with the toss occurring at 0900 local time.
Pakistan, currently ranked eighth in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings, holds a slight advantage over ninth-placed Bangladesh. In their past 17 T20Is, Pakistan women have clinched victory in 15, with Bangladesh winning only twice. Bangladesh’s first triumph against Pakistan was in an Asia Cup match in 2018, and their second came during the bronze medal match in the recent Asian Games.
In their most recent bilateral series in October 2019, Pakistan blanked Bangladesh 3-0 in Lahore.
Key Players for Pakistan include former captain Bismah Maroof, who boasts 379 runs against Bangladesh at an impressive average of 75.80. Another standout is opening batter Sidra Amin, the leading run-getter in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 with 634 runs, including one half-century against Bangladesh. All-rounder Nida Dar, in addition to her contributions with the bat, has taken 16 wickets from 14 T20Is against Bangladesh.
In the bowling department, left-arm spinners Nashra Sundhu and Sadia Iqbal have been pivotal with eight and six wickets, respectively. Right-arm fast bowler Diana Baig has claimed seven wickets from six matches at an economical rate of 4.80 against Bangladesh.
Nida Dar emphasized the team’s preparations and their strategy to secure another bilateral T20I series victory. She stated, “Our goal is to play positive and fearless cricket, just as we did in our recent series against South Africa. I am confident the players will play to their strengths, and I hope for a positive result in the series.
“We respect the Bangladesh women’s team, and we know they are competitive, especially on their home turf. We recently faced them in the Asian Games, where they defeated us, showcasing their talent. Our approach in the series will be simple – we will take one game at a time.”
Pakistan Squad:
Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Ghulam Fatima, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Umm-e-Hani, and Waheeda Akhtar
Let the thrilling contests begin:
25 Oct: First T20I at ZACS, Chattogram (Match starts at 4:30pm local time)
27 Oct: Second T20I at ZACS, Chattogram (Match starts at 4:30pm local time)
29 Oct: Third T20I at ZACS, Chattogram (Match starts at 4:30pm local time)
04 Nov: First ODI at SBNCS, Mirpur (Match starts at 9:30am local time)
07 Nov: Second ODI at SBNCS, Mirpur (Match starts at 9:30am local time)
10 Nov: Third ODI at SBNCS, Mirpur (Match starts at 9:30am local time)
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