The stage is set for an electrifying showdown at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi as Nida Dar-led Lahore Women are geared up to take on Fatima Sana’s Karachi Women in the highly anticipated final of the National Women’s T20 Tournament 2023-24.
Tomorrow’s final will be live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel, with the first ball to be bowled at 11am PKT. The winner of tomorrow’s game will not only take the trophy home, but will also receive PKR one million. The runners-up will get 0.5 million.
The player of the tournament will be awarded PKR50,000 and player of the match will receive PKR20,000. The tournament’s top performers – best batter, best bowler and best wicket-keeper – will get PKR 25,000, each.
Players to watch out for in the final
Lahore Women:
Lahore have remained unbeaten in the tournament, winning all 10 matches in the six-team tournament. Opening batter Sidra Amin, also the highest run-getter in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, is leading the batting charts with 494 runs from 10 outings, with one century and three half-centuries. She has scored runs at the strike-rate of 143.60.
In the bowling unit, Lahore’s spin twins of Ghulam Fatima and Nashra Sundhu, occupy the top two spots. Leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima has 21 wickets to her name from 10 matches at an economy rate of 4.44. Left-arm spinner, Nashra, currently ranked number sixth in the ICC Women’s T20I bowling rankings, has 19 scalps to her name, with one five-fer and a four-fer in the tournament.
Lahore captain Nida Dar: “The players have performed really well, and each player has taken responsibility. We are looking forward to winning tomorrow’s game as well.
“Karachi team has done well. They have a good combination of senior and junior players. I hope we see a good game of cricket tomorrow.”
Karachi Women:
Karachi have won six matches from 10 outings in the tournament. Former national captain and opening batter Javeria Khan, has hit two half-centuries for her side, scoring 352 runs from 10 matches. She holds an average of 44 and strike-rate of 110.34.
In the bowling department, spinners have done wonders for the Karachi similar to Lahore’s spin bowling prowess. 20-year-old leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah has taken 14 wickets from 10 matches at an economy rate of 5.09. She has the support of another spinner, off-spin bowler Rameen Shamim, who has bagged 13 wickets from 10 matches at an economy rate of 4.77.
Karachi captain Fatima Sana: “We didn’t have a good beginning in the tournament, but how the players fought back in the latter half was commendable.
“The youngsters have played a great role in helping the team qualify for the final. Whenever the senior players were not performing, the young players took responsibility for themselves and helped the side do well.
“We know we didn’t win against Lahore earlier in the tournament, but we will try to keep momentum on our side and will strive to perform well in tomorrow’s big game.”
