Pakistan beat Scotland by six wickets in a rain-curtailed encounter on the back of an unbeaten knock by Aliya Riaz in their second One-Day International (ODI) encounter of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 Qualifiers in Lahore.
The hosts were chasing 187 to win under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a match that was curtailed to 32 overs per side due to rain delaying the start of play. The hosts eventually chased it down with ease, getting 190 for 4 — with eight balls to spare, thanks to player of the match Aliya’s unbeaten 68 not out.
Speaking at the post-match ceremony at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground, the right-handed batter said, “I told Muneeb Ali that we should focus on building a partnership and gradually up the run-rate.
“I was taking the innings ball to ball and was waiting to hit out on the deliveries that fell into my radar.”
She added that they were focusing on the task of qualifying for the Women’s World Cup, and that the top-order batters were approaching the tournament with that responsibility in mind.
Pakistan suffered early blows in their chase of 187 set by Scotland, with new entrant Gull Feroza and the experienced Sidra Amin falling for two and seven, respectively, with just 36 runs on the board.
Opener Muneeba was joined by the last match’s half centurion Aliya at the crease and combined for a steady partnership of 93 runs that all but took Scotland out of the game.
Scotland were sloppy in the field — giving away extra runs and giving Muneeba multiple reprieves in the form of dropped catches on 37 and 54, both times by Abbi Aitken-Drummond, with the southpaw making the most of the chances and scoring 71 in a crucial partnership.
Aliya scored her second consecutive half-century in the match, hitting 68 of just 70 deliveries in an innings that included seven boundaries and a six. She lost partners at the other end but maintained her cool to chase the score down with ease towards the end of the innings.
In the first innings, after being put into to bat after losing the toss — Scotland’s skipper Kathryn Bryce, led from the front, scoring 91 of 96 balls and hitting 10 boundaries and a six before being bowled by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana.
Fatima was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan. She ended with figures of 4-23 as the side restricted Scotland to 186 for nine wickets in the innings that was restricted to 32 overs.
