Colombo [Sri Lanka], October 2 : Debutant Rubya Haider's unbeaten 54 and a clinical bowling display wrapped up a commanding 7-wicket victory for Bangladesh against Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium on Thursday in the ongoing Women's World Cup.
Opener Rubya's stylish half-century and a clinical bowling display were at the heart of Bangladesh's dominating outing. During Bangladesh's pursuit of a 130-run target, right-arm quick Diana Baig pinned Fargana Hoque in the fourth over, punching her return ticket on a rustic 2(17).
Rubya and Sharmin Akhter ensured Bangladesh remained unscathed for the rest of the powerplay, finishing the first 10 overs on 23/1. Pakistan found the breakthrough with Rameen Shamim outfoxing Akhter with a delivery that stayed straight. Akhter went to play for the spin but ended up getting trapped and walked back after a scratchy 10(30).
Rubya and skipper Nigar Sultana raised a 62-run partnership, knocking Pakistan off the perch and clearing Bangladesh's path to victory. Nigar (23 off 44) fell to her Pakistan counterpart, Fatima Sana, before the winning moment. Rubya brought up her fifty with a boundary and received an unprecedented lifeline after being dropped by Shamim off Sadia Iqbal in the 29th over.
Sobhana Mostary dealt with boundaries and struck the winning runs by cutting through the point for a four to get Bangladesh's campaign rolling with a victory in 31.1 overs. Rubya returned with a composed 54* off 77 deliveries, while Mostary stayed unbeaten on a quick-fire 24 off 19.
In the first innings, a clinical bowling performance from Bangladesh rattled Pakistan, restricting them to a trivial total of 129 in 38.3 overs. Marufa Akter, a 20-year-old quick, set the tone of the fixture by rattling the stumps of Omaima Sohail and Sidra Amin. On the last two consecutive deliveries of the opening over, she castled Sohail and Amin on golden ducks to leave Pakistan's top-order jolted.
With Sohail and Amin returning without troubling the scorers, Pakistan found solace in a short-lived 42-run stand for the third wicket between Muneeba Ali (17) and Rameen Shamim (23). However, once the partnership ended, a steep downhill road awaited Pakistan.
Skipper Fatima Sana (22) chipped in with a handy contribution, but wickets kept falling at regular intervals, curtailing Pakistan's progress. Nahida Akter, Nishita Akter Nishi and Fahima Khatun chained Pakistan in the middle overs, and Shorna Akter cleaned up the tail with three wickets to wrap Pakistan's sluggish innings on 129.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 129 (Rameen Shamim 23; Shorna Akter 3-5) vs Bangladesh 131-3 (Rubya Haider 54*, Sobhana Mostary 24*; Diana Baig 1-14).