Analyzing Pakistan's 2-0 one-day series win over Sri Lanka - Women's cricket

Pakistan vs Srilanka series 2015

Pakistan Women’s Cricket has seen a sudden spark of improvement and hope in recent times with their steady and gradual promising performances in the previous couple of series. A major tournament was against the Aussies which appeared to be a complete whitewash and a one-sided affair, according to the stats, however, even the Aussies, the world champions and the most extravagant women’s team in the world, acknowledged the potential and improvement the Pakistani women exhibited in the whole tournament.

After all, at the end of the day, one team emerges as a sole winner, but what matters more is the way a team plays and the body language. Gradually, the Pakistan women cricketers are climbing the ladder success with their recent performance against Srilanka, a 2-0 series whitewash seems to be a remarkable performance; with the team putting up a collective team effort during both the matches.

The Sri Lankan women cricketers had put up a good fight in the second ODI trying to chase down a modest target of 139. The match was a close affair as it went into the very last overs with a single wicket needed for the Pakistani women to clinch the series. This match had turned out to be a test of a number of traits for both the teams. From game temperament to technical skills, patience, mental confidence and strength to physical fitness, the second ODI had pushed both the teams to their limits and ended up being an entertainer for everyone.

Decoding Pakistan’s performance in the two-match series

The winning team’s captain, Sana Mir, clinched 2 wickets with an impressive economy rate of 2.20, conceding only 22 runs in 10 overs and also contributed a handy knock of 34 runs. Furthermore, the bowling department was uplifted by Bismah Maroof’s impressive showdown of 3 wickets with an economy rate of 2.00. Similarly, Sumaiya Siddiqui added to the fine economy rates list by managing a tightening economy of 2.00 in 5 overs with 2 maiden overs.

However, in the batting department, the impressive all-rounder Asmavia Iqbal ended up with the most modest strike rate of 65.51. Whereas Nain Abidi, a promising player for Pakistan team, scored 29 runs and Nida Dar contributed 11, however the rest of the players did not manage to cross double figures.

On the other hand, the first ODI saw some exciting batting performances from Pakistan team with Nida Dar scoring an impressive knock of 37 runs off 36 balls managing a dominant strike rate of 102.77. Alongside her was the tall opener Marina Iqbal, who managed to score 69 runs, giving a solid start to the team’s batting. In addition, she was supported by the widely known batsman, Javeria Khan who contributed with 30 runs.

A noteworthy aspect is that in both the ODIs the teams had been tested with different plans and strategies for the conduct of the game. The Pakistan team was tested with chasing down 179 runs in the first ODI, whereas in the second match they were required to hold their nerve in defending a modest target of 139 runs.

Sri Lanka’s performance in the series

Coming to the Sri Lankan team, the first ODI saw solid batting performances by the opener AC Jayangani who scored 49 runs off 76 balls, managing a strike rate of 64.47. In addition, MADD Surangika stood out among others with the bat with her promising knock of 43 runs off 64 balls, strengthening her team’s batting in achieving a total of 178 runs.

However, in the bowling department I Ranaweera stood out with vibrant stats of 3 wickets with an impressive economy rate of 2.80 conceding 28 runs in 10 overs. Moreover, the bowling department was supported by HM Samuddika who managed a decent economy of 2.20 with a single wicket. Other than these two HASD Siriwardene grabbed a wicket too.

In the second ODI, S Kumari shone in the bowling department by clinching 3 wickets with an economy rate of 3.00 bowling 8 overs; whereas LE Kaushalya supported her team in taking down 2 wickets with an economy of 2.42.

Considering the Srilankan women’s batting in the second ODI, MADD Surangika managed to put up a score of 38 runs in 85 balls, however, no one could cross 20 to support Srilanka in chasing down the target.

Overall, this series not only saw positives and negatives for Pakistan and Srilankan women cricket teams, but also exhibited the potential and level of competence women’s cricket has attained. The sense of fight, conscientiousness possessed by the players, aggressive and tough cricketing skills are all traits common in men’s cricket but it is exciting to see how women’s cricket is maturing and engraving these traits too with a very disciplined showdown of the game of cricket.