Bready (Northern Ireland): The tour opener in the Ireland Tri-Nation Women’s T20I series between Pakistan and Australia here was washed out with only eight overs being bowled, though there was no shortage of action with the Bismah Maroof-led side reduced to 56/6 and a total of 28 extras being conceded.
Just as Alana King (3/8) and Ashleigh Gardner (2/11) looked set to bundle out Pakistan, the rain that had already reduced the match to 19 overs a side returned, forcing the match to be called off.
Leg-spinner King grabbed three wickets in her first over — Australia’s seventh — decimating the Pakistan line-up by getting rid of Kainat Imtiaz, Ayesha Naseem and Aliya Riaz for duck after an action-packed powerplay, which saw the Meg Lanning-led side take three wickets, but also concede 28 extras.
Making full use of the damp conditions, the leg-spinner bowled a shorter length to remove the three batters and leave Pakistan staring at a sub-100 total after they had reached 3/37 in five overs.
“It was a little bit wet and slippery but there was a big slope on the wicket so it was just more adjusting to that,” King was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “I’m happy to have the ball in my hand in any situation to be honest so it was good to roll a few out,” she added.
“We figured out that anything full was easy to play so we just needed to bring our length back a little bit and make sure that we bring the stumps into play. It was a tricky wicket that was sliding on sometimes, then some were gripping, so we knew if we hit our lengths early we’d be right in the contest.”
The series is an ideal preparation for the teams as they prepare for the Commonwealth Games beginning July 29.
Brief scores: Pakistan Women 56/6 in 8 overs (Alana King 3/8, Ashleigh Gardner 2/11) vs Australia. No result.
–IANS