Pakistan women’s team got off to a winning start in the new cycle of the ICC Women’s championship as they defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the first match of the three-match ODI series.
The Sri Lankan team was bowled out for 169 in the first innings as they failed to tackle the brilliance of the Pakistani bowling unit. While the entire bowling unit played their part in restricting the opponents, leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima was particularly impressive.
Ghulam Fatima troubled the Sri Lankan batters as she picked up 4 wickets for 21 runs in 10 overs, registering her career-best bowling figures in ODI cricket.
Pakistani batters chased down the target of 170 with utmost ease as captain Bismah Maroof and opener Sidra Amin put on a record-breaking stand for the second wicket. The two batters put on a 143-run partnership, registering Pakistan’s best ever second-wicket stand in Women’s ODIs.
Sidra was the top scorer in the match, scoring 76 runs off 119 balls before being bowled out with just two runs left to win the match. Bismah scored 62 runs off 101 balls as she registered her 16th half-century in the 50-over format.
The Women in Green achieved the target with 8 wickets in hand and more than 8 overs to spare. As a result of the win, the Pakistan team has jumped up to the first spot in the points table after winning the opening encounter of the championship. They will be hoping to complete a whitewash in the series and get a head start in the competition.
Here is the ICC Women’s Championship points table: (1 June 2022)
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | N/R | Points |
| 1 | Pakistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Australia | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | England | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | India | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 7 | Ireland | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | New Zealand | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | South Africa | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | West Indies | 0 | – | – | – | – |
