Muneeba Ali’s half-century and Sadia Iqbal’s three-wicket haul headlined Pakistan’s 35-run victory over Thailand in the Group A encounter of the Asia Cup in Dubai. Pakistan posted 119 for 9 before restricting Thailand to 84 for 8 to get their campaign off to a winning start.Pakistan made a slow start after opting to bat, losing Shawaal Zulfiqar and Gull Feroza to Thipatcha Putthawong inside the first two overs. Ayesha Zafar briefly countered with a couple of boundaries before falling for 9 as Pakistan ended the Powerplay at 32/3. Muneeba Ali then steadied the innings with Sadaf Shamas, both getting regular boundaries to take Pakistan to 60/3 at the halfway stage of the innings.The fourth wicket pair added 54 before Suleeporn Laomi struck twice in the 13th over, removing Shamas for 20 and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana for a duck. Muneeba brought up a 45-ball fifty but was eventually stumped for 54 in the 17th over, as Laomi finished with excellent figures of 3 for 14. Thailand kept taking wickets, but Pakistan found some momentum late in the innings, with Umm-e-Hani’s 17 and Tuba Hassan’s 12 taking them close to 120.
Thailand’s chase got off to a disastrous start as Sadia Iqbal struck twice in her first over, bowling Phannita Maya for 4 before having Nannapat Koncharoenkai caught for a duck to complete a double-wicket maiden. Nattakan Chantam and Naruemol Chaiwai struggled to score freely, managing only 22 runs in the Powerplay despite hitting a couple of boundaries. Pakistan continued to keep things tight after the field spread, with Nashra Sandhu also bagging the wicket of Chantam, leaving Thailand at 33/3 after 10 overs.
Skipper Chaiwai’s laboured innings – 17 off 33 – ended when she fell to Tuba in the 13th over. With the required rate climbing, Aphisara Suwanchonrathi and Chanida Sutthiruang tried to get a partnership going but the former became Tuba’s second victim, leaving Thailand at 65/5 in the 17th over. When Naomi Hamilton was dismissed by Ayesha, Thailand needed 50 off 15. They didn’t come anywhere close, suffering their second loss in three matches.Brief scores: Pakistan 119/9 in 20 overs (Muneeba Ali 54 off 52, Sadaf Shamas 20 off 20; Suleeporn Laomi 3-14, Thipatcha Putthawong 3-18) beat Thailand 84/8 in 20 overs (Chanida Sutthiruang 25 off 24, Naruemol Chaiwai 17 off 33; Sadia Iqbal 3-11, Tuba Hassan 2-17) by 35 runs.
