Pakistan women bagged a bronze medal after beating Bangladesh in the third-place clash by 31 runs at the Korogi Sports Park on Tuesday. In a rematch of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medal playoff, the Women in Green this time avenged the medal they conceded to the fellow Asian side with an impressive all-round performance. Led by strong outings from captain Fatima Sana and off-spinner Umm-e-Hani, the Women in Green defended 145 after restricting Bangladesh to 114 in 20 overs to register an impressive win and take their third women’s cricket medal after winning gold in the 2010 and 2014 editions.
Pakistan came into this clash after losing to Sri Lanka in the semifinal, while the Nigar Sultana’s Bangladeshi side went down to India in the other semifinal as the two clashed for the bronze. Nahida Akter, Shorna Akter and Ritu Moni picked two wickets each as Bangladesh had a strong middle phase before Sana took over to post a decent total. Captain Sana stood up once again as she this time made a strong 45 from 30 balls with the bat after the Women in Green lost wickets in a heap.
Wicketkeeper-opener Gull Feroza and Shawaal Zulfiqar gave a decent start to the innings with their 46-run stand for the opening wicket, although the latter struggled with the scoring rate having made 17 from 27 balls, while Feroza scored a 23-ball 31. The Bangladeshi side stormed back with regular wickets as they sent down Pakistan from 46/0 to 67/5 with Shorna Akter, Nahida Akter, Ritu Moni and Akter Meghla doing the damage.
