Knight, Glenn help England thrash Pakistan Women in first T20I

Source: The Nation

BIRMINGHAM - Sarah Glenn's four-wicket haul after an anchoring 49-run knock from skipper Heather Knight led England to a thrashing 53-run win over Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series here at Edgbaston on Saturday. Chasing a daunting 164-run target, Pakistan's batting unit unfolded on a meagre 110 despite Sadaf Shams' brisk knock. Pakistan had a similar start to the pursuit as they lost both their openers Sidra Ameen (9) and Gull Feroza (17) inside the batting powerplay. But, No 3 batter Sadafkept Pakistan in control with clean hitting. She dominated England bowlers amid her brief knock as Pakistan were cruising at 77/3 in 10 overs. But a mix-up between Sadaf and skipper Nida Dar saw the set batter walking back to the dugout in the next over. She remained top-scorer for Pakistan with 24-ball 35 with the help of seven boundaries.Her dismissal sparked a middle-order collapse as Pakistan began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and consequently slipped to 89/9 in 15 overs.

Tailenders Fatima Sana (16*) and Sadia Iqbal (8) offered brief retaliation by adding 21 runs for the 10th wicket until the latter fell victim to Lauren Bell in the penultimate over. Sarah Glenn clinched 4/12 while Bell bagged 3/22.Top-ranked T20I bowler Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean, on the other hand, made one scalp each. Put into bat first, England found themselves in a state of bother as they were reduced to 11/4 in 2.5 overs. Following the early debacle, England captain Knight was joined by Jones in the middle and the duo launched an astounding recovery. The pair batted sensibly and added 67 runs for the seventh wicket to pull England out of trouble. Jones walked back in the 13th over as Sadia Iqbal drew a much-needed breakthrough for Pakistan.She scored a brisk 37 off 27 deliveries with the help of four boundaries.Coming out to bat at No.7 Danielle Gibson then took charge of bolstering England's total and knitted a one-sided partnership with Heather Knight, who perished in the 16th over.Knight remained the top-scorer for England with a cautious 49. Her 44-ball knock featured six boundaries.

Meanwhile, Gibson continued to punish Pakistan bowlers and added valuable runs for England at the backend and returned unbeaten on 41 off just 21 deliveries, laced up with eight boundaries.Waheeda Akhtar and Sadia Iqbal each bagged two wickets for Pakistan while Tuba chipped in with a wicket.

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