Bready (Ireland): Rain once again frustrated Australia batters as they looked to be cruising along nicely against Pakistan in a Tri-Nation Women’s T20I series match, after the bowlers had restricted the opponents to a meagre 94/8 in the allotted 20 overs.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof gave some respectability to the total with an unbeaten 32 off 39 deliveries even as Jess Jonassen’s 4/17 in her four overs rattled the opponents.
Australia were in a dominant position at 28 without loss in 4.2 overs, but a downpour ended the proceedings when just four balls were required for a result — a minimum of five overs constitute a match.
This is the second time in the series that the Australia-Pakistan match has bene abandoned. Earlier in the opening game of the Tri-series, Pakistan had been reduced to 56/6 before a steady downpour forced the match to be called off.
A victory for Australia would have sealed a Tri-series win, but now the outcome of the tournament will be decided in Sunday’s final game between Ireland and Pakistan, with Australia currently two points clear on top of the table.
A win for Pakistan over Ireland will draw them level on points, but given Australia’s better net run rate (NRR) (3.23 to 0.929), Pakistan would need to pull off something special to leap ahead of Meg Lanning’s side, according to cricket.com.au.
Brief scores: Pakistan Women 94/8 in 20 overs (Bismah Maroof 32 not out; Jess Jonassen 4/17) vs Australia Women 28 for no loss in 4.2 overs (Beth Mooney 11 not out, Alyssa Healy 12 not out). Match abandoned.
–IANS