Cape Town: England beat Pakistan by 114 runs in the Women’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. Batting first in the Group 2 match, England scored 213 runs for five wickets. In reply, Pakistan were 99 for nine when they bowled the last ball.
Pakistan were facing an impossible target of 122 when Sophie Exelstone came to bowl the last over. Nasra Sandhu (one) was stumped by wicketkeeper Amy Jones on the last ball.
England finished first with eight points from four games and India finished second with six points. England won all four games. India had lost to England. India and Australia will meet in the first semi-final tomorrow. The winners of Group 1 are defending champions Australia. The second semi is on Friday. The final is on Sunday.
In Group Two, West Indies finished third with four points from four games. Pakistan is fourth with two points from four games. Ireland, which has not opened an account, is the last.
Batting first for England against Pakistan, Nat Sheaver Brunt came out with a firework batting. Sheaver remained unbeaten on 81 runs off 40 balls including a six and 12 fours. Star of the match is also Nat Sheaver Brand.
Opener Danny Wyatt (59 off 33 balls with two sixes and seven fours) and Amy Jones (47 off 31 balls with one six and five fours) also made the Pac bowlers cry. Nida Dar conceded 47 runs, Fatima Sana 44 runs and Sadia Iqbal 41 runs in four overs. Openers Sophia Dunkle (two) and Alice Kapse (six) were dismissed early on but the runs started to flow as Danny Wyatt and Nat Sheaver combined. Wyatt got out with the score standing at 107. The player scored his half century in 29 balls. Heroine Heather Knight (four) failed to shine. The run continued as Shiver and Amy joined. 100 runs in 46 balls with the fifth wicket. Sheaver crossed the half century in 29 balls. Five penalty runs were awarded in favor of England.
For Pakistan, Fatima Sana took two wickets and Nida Dar, Sadia Iqbal and Tuba Hasan took one wicket each. Sadaf Shamas (0) was dismissed in the first over of the Pak innings bowled by Katrina Sheaver Brunt. Wicket keeper Amy Jones caught Sadaf. Opener Muneeb Ali (three) caught by Amy Jones off Charlie Dean. Omaima Sohail (nine), Sidra Amin (12), Nida Dar (11), who took on the role of the heroine, and Alia Riaz (five) returned soon after. Fatima Sana (16 not out in 32 balls) and Tuba Hasan (28 including a six and two fours in 20 balls) brought life to the innings. Catherine and Charlie Dean took two wickets each for England. Nat Sheaver, Sarah Glenn and Sophia took one wicket each. Amiya Jones was also active behind the wicket with two catches and two stumpings. Nat Sheaver Brunt was the star of the match with an all-around performance.
