CAPE TOWN (Web Desk) – In recent months, athletes with glasses have occupied a lot of the spotlight. Muneeba Ali of Pakistan made a splash in the Women’s T20 World Cup in Cape Town after Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed and Australia’s Todd Murphy made memorable Test debuts in the men’s arena.
After Pakistan thrashed Ireland in their Group 2 match, Muneeba became the first female player for Pakistan to hit a T20I century and only the sixth player overall to do so in a T20 World Cup. After Pakistan reached 165 for 5, their best total at the T20 World Cup, she and all-rounder Nida Dar combined 101 for the third wicket. It was 70 too many for Ireland, who were bowled out for 95 after being stopped by spin.
Muneeba puts up a performance in fluent.
After making her T20I debut in 2016, Muneeba has been heralded as a prodigy, although she has only consistently shown flashes of her brilliance. Ireland and the majority of fans who saw her on Wednesday caught her at her best as she pounded the bowlers. Everyone could see her desire, whether it was to dash between the wickets or get boundaries.
Muneeba got off to a fast start, scoring fours in all five of his opening overs. At that moment, Pakistan had rushed to 41 for none with the southpaw on 30 off 19. Javeria Khan was out in the last over of the powerplay thanks to a stunning straight shot from Ireland wicketkeeper Mary Waldron. Although though replays could not completely prove that the ball was grassed, Bismah Maroof was quickly declared out after being caught too easily at midfield.
These rejections made no difference to Muneeba, who was particularly fond of Leah Paul’s left-arm spin. She used her feet to create space and cross the off side while four fielders were positioned deeply on the on side in order to score 23 runs overall off the 15 balls she faced from Paul. She needed an additional 26 balls to get the triple digits after reaching her fifty after 40 balls. She made 102 from 68 balls before falling on the final ball of the last over.
Dar asserts her presence.
Dar was given a new task with the bat for a change. She often came in to bat as Pakistan’s saviour when they were 55 for 2. In the eighth over, at that point, she was in the middle. Yet, an on-song Muneeba made her job simple and allowed her to take a backseat for a while.
Dar began the match with a sweep through backward square leg and added another from her twelfth ball with a strike through cow corner. She raced well between the wicket, rotated the strike, and often fed the strike back to Muneeba. She danced along the track while waiting for legspinner Cara Murray to knock a six over wide long-on. She only hit three boundaries in her 28-ball 33 but yet contributed to Pakistan’s fourth overall and first hundred-run partnership in a T20 World Cup.
Ireland was choked by the turn
Ireland needed at least two of the top three to have any chance of an implausible pursuit. Dar’s skill with the ball undid Gaby Lewis, who smashed left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal with a clean shot over mid-off. Lewis reached out for the drive and inside egged it to the wicketkeeper after Dar slowed down and drew one delivery back slightly after blasting four through.
Then, Orla Prendergast hit a few well-placed shots, including one off Fatima Sana that she smoked over wide long-on for a six. She struck four fours and a six in her 31 points off only 21 balls, but she was the first of left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu’s four wickets.
Eimear Richardson, who had accelerated to 28 off 17, was then dismissed by Sandhu as she progressed through the middle order, finishing with a career-high 4 for 18. In all, Pakistani bowlers took nine out of 10 wickets with spin to bowl Ireland out and make their tournament debut.