Sylhet (Bangladesh), Oct 9 (IANS): All-rounder Aliya Riaz smacked an unbeaten half-century to seal Pakistan's 71-run win over UAE in Women's Asia Cup at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) on Sunday.
The win also sees Pakistan be on par with India at eight points from four matches, but are placed second on the points table due to net run rate.
After being pushed into batting first, Pakistan lost Sidra Amin for just two in the fourth over with 14 runs on the board. Captain Bismah Maroof fell cheaply for seven while Omaima Sohail was dismissed for a golden duck to put Pakistan in a spot of bother with 41/3 in eight overs.
The right-handed Aliya joined wicketkeeper Muneeba Ali (43 off 45 balls) and both batters stitched a 36-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Muneeba smashed five fours and a six before falling in the 14th over. In the next over Ayesha Naseem fell for just a solitary run.
At 78/5 in 14.2 overs, Nida Dar, the viatl cog of Pakistan's 13-run win over India on Friday, joined Aliya at the middle. From there, both all-rounders shared an unbroken 67-run partnership for the sixth wicket off just 34 balls.
During the course of their partnership, seven fours and three massive sixes were hit. Aliya remained undefeated on a 36-ball 57, hitting five fours and three sixes, while Nida struck four boundaries during her unbeaten knock of 25 from 17 balls as Pakistan made 145/5 in 20 overs.
In reply, UAE were never in the hunt to chase down the target and managed to score only 74/5 in their 20 overs. Khushi Sharma top-scored with an unbeaten 19-ball 20, which included a brace of fours. From the bowlers, Omaima, Aiman Anwer, Nashra Sandhu, and Sadia Iqbal bagged a wicket each.
Pakistan will now face Sri Lanka in their last league match on October 11. Both semi-finals will be played on October 13, while the final will be played on October 15.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 145/5 in 20 overs (Aliya Riaz 57 not out, Muneeba Ali 43; Esha Oza 3-22) beat UAE 74/5 in 20 overs (Khushi Sharma 20 not out, Aiman Anwer 1/10, Nashra Sundhu 1/15) by 71 runs