England eves defeat Pakistan in Group A clash

Spin was in on the day as England ensured there were no major surprises in store, brushing aside Pakistan by 43 runs in a Group A encounter of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in Galle on Thursday. After being sent in to bat, England posted a competitive total of 133 for 6 in 20 overs. Sana Mir, the Pakistan captain, would have hoped to of make use of the early morning assistance from the pitch after winning the toss, but her bowlers failed to back the decision as Charlotte Edwards, the England captain, and Laura Marsh blazed away to post 50 in just six overs. Some poor fielding did not help Pakistan as they looked like they were intimidated by the big occasion. Marsh raised her maiden T20 fifty in an opening stand of 102 in 13.1 overs, before being run out for 54. For a team that has played a lot of cricket together in recent times, it was surprising to see the lack of communication accounting for the next English dismissal, when Edwards was run out for 45. Sarah Taylor, England’s most prolific run-scorer, had the perfect launchpad to accelerate, but given the same pitch was being used for a second consecutive day meant it took a while for the batters to adjust, which became increasingly visible as Pakistan made full use of their slow options. Pakistan did well to pull things back by picking up the last five wickets for just 20 runs to restrict England to a gettable total. Mir was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 20, while Sadia Yousuf and Nida Rashid had one wicket apiece. In reply, Pakistan’s batters hardly posed any challenge as they were bowled out for 90 in the 20th over. Despite making a fine comeback with the ball, it was always going to be a stiff task, given England’s experienced bowling attack.