At 67 for 5 in the 12th over, Pakistan  were under the cosh against Bqngladesh  in their bronze-medal playoff at the  Asian Games women’s competition. That’s when Fatima  Sana  walked out, slammed 45 in 30 balls, and gave Pakistan 145, which was 31 too many for Bangladesh, especially after Umm-e-Hani picked up three top- and middle-order wickets to end with 3 for 10 from her four overs.

Bangladesh’s big concern, of  late and in general, has been the number of dot balls they play out in a typical T20 innings. In this game, it was a marginal improvement from the loss to India in the semi-final – they had 43 dot balls here compared to 61 in that game. But it was still fewer than the 48 they bowled to Pakistan in the first half. The difference was Sana, who scored at 150.00 to change the complexion of the contest.

Pakistan’s start had been decent, thanks to Gull  Feroza, after they won the toss and opted to bat. Feroza and Shawaal Zulfiqar added 46 in 41 balls before being separated in the seventh over. The one to be dismissed was Feroza, who had scored 31 in 23 balls. Zulfiqar batted on before becoming the third batter to fall, having struggled to 17 off 27 balls. And the wickets kept falling, Shorna Akter picking up two of them to leave Pakistan in a mess with five batters gone.

Sana had a solid stand for the sixth wicket with Aliya Riyaz,  who scored 25 in 22 balls and added 67 with Sana in just 43 balls. The control Bangladesh had was gone with the two hitting five sixes between them.

The target for Bangladesh, which looked like it might be in the region of 100, was suddenly closer to 150. And the chase never took off. Umm-e-Hani struck in the third over, then in the fifth over, and again in the 16th over. By then, Bangladesh were floundering: 77 for 5 with under five overs to go.

The resistance came from senior pro Sharmin Akther,  who scored an unbeaten 46 in 45 balls, but there was nothing around her, and Pakistan ran out comfortable, 31-run victors.

Scores:

Pakistan women  145 for 8 in 20 overs  (Shawaal Zulfiqar 17,  Fatima Sana 45, Gull Feroza 31, Aliya Riyaz 25; Sanija Akter Meghla 1-28, Nahida Akter 2-21, Shorna Akter 2-16, Ritu Moni 2-27) beat Bangladesh women 114 for 7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 12, Nigar Sultana 25, Sharmin Akhter 46*, Nahida Akter 10*; Tasmia  Rubab 1-25, Fatima Sana 1-25, Umm-e-Hani 3-10, Nashra Sandhu 1-19, Ayesha Zafar 1-10) by 31 runs  

(Cricinfo)

The reins of Sri Lanka’s ODI captaincy will return to Kusal Mendis as the wicketkeeper batter makes his international comeback following a lengthy injury lay off.

Mendis, a regular across all three formats for much of the last decade, was forced into a rare spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury during the LPL.

The injury ruled him out of the home Test series against India and he subsequently missed the T20I leg of the tour of England, with Charith Asalanka taking over the captaincy. Mendis will lead the side today in the first ODI against England.

Mendis had returned to action for SSC in last week’s domestic T20 tournament, featuring in both the semi-final and final. He struck a crucial half-century in the semi-final against NCC to help SSC book their place in the final and having proved his match fitness, was flown to England to take charge of the ODI side.

Sri Lanka will hope his return can provide the spark that was conspicuously absent during a chastening T20I series, where the tourists were swept 3-0.

More worrying than the scoreline was the manner of the defeats. Sri Lanka barely landed a punch, with the batting repeatedly folding and the side often failing to use its full quota of 20 overs. It is hardly a new headache either. The shortcomings of the batting unit in the shortest format have been evident for some time, but a remedy remains elusive.

The fact that not a single Sri Lankan batter managed a half-century throughout the three match series only underlined the scale of the problem.

Today’s game will be played at Chester-le-Street in Durham, the northernmost international cricket venue in England. A short drive from Scotland, Durham was also once home to Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara, who had a stint in county cricket with the club.

All-rounder Janith Liyanage, who has developed into a steadying influence in the middle order, is expected to feature, while prolific young run scorer Pavan Rathnayake is also pushing strongly for a place.

Sri Lanka also have the option of promoting Kamil Mishara to open alongside Pathum Nissanka, which would preserve the left-hand, right-hand combination at the top of the order.

Asitha Fernando, who did not feature in the T20I series, returns for the ODIs and is tipped to share the new ball with Dushmantha Chameera. The third seamer’s berth appears to be a toss up between Dilshan Madushanka and Eshan Malinga.

There is no shortage of spin either, with Sri Lanka having to choose from Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and uncapped leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage.

Today’s game gets underway at 5pm Sri Lanka time.

The second match will be played at Headingley on Thursday before the tour concludes in London on Sunday, with The Oval hosting the final ODI, a day game beginning at 3pm Sri Lanka time.