Colombo continued to be drenched by relentless monsoon showers on Wednesday as Pakistan were denied a shock victory over England in the Women’s World Cup.
Pakistan, still searching for their first win in the eight-nation tournament and rooted to the bottom of the points table, were left frustrated after a brilliant bowling display had restricted the four-time champions to 133 for 9 in a game reduced to 31 overs.
Chasing a revised target of 113, Pakistan’s openers started strongly, reaching 34 without loss in just 6.4 overs, before rain forced the match to be abandoned at 9.58 pm local time.
Pakistan’s bowlers set the tone from the outset, led by captain Fatima Sana. She moved the ball sharply into the batters, taking three early wickets before the rain break and returning afterwards to claim another, finishing with impressive figures of 4 for 27.
“We showed today that we can beat any team. Disappointed about the rain. We were really good with the ball and the bat and we would have been happy with a win,” said Sana.
Sana’s inswinging deliveries were particularly effective, claiming the wickets of Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt in quick succession after Diana Baig had bowled Tammy Beaumont and Sana herself had removed Amy Jones.
The spinners then tightened the screws, ensuring the seamers’ hard work did not go to waste. Play had been initially halted with England in trouble at 79 for 7 after 25 overs. When action resumed, Charlie Dean and Emma Arlott offered some resistance, adding 47 for the eighth wicket. England’s tail added 54 runs in the final six overs, giving their bowlers something to defend, but Pakistan were well placed when the rain returned.
England have never lost to Pakistan in 16 previous ODIs and needed only the weather to preserve that record.
It was the third rain-affected game in Colombo in this World Cup. Earlier, Australia and Sri Lanka had shared points without a ball bowled, and Sri Lanka’s match against New Zealand was also abandoned on Monday.
“Pakistan were top today and they never let us come back into the game. We fought back in the end, but we were not good enough. It was seaming quite a lot and we did not adapt well,” said England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.
