Marufa and the Spinners Bowled Out Pakistan for 129 in the Women’s World Cup

Bangladesh's spin-heavy attack highlighted Pakistan's poor shot decision on a strong batting surface.

Pakistan 129 (Shorna 3-5, Nahida 2-19, Marufa 2-31) - Bangladesh

Bangladesh's bowlers made an early impression at the Women's World Cup, knocking Pakistan for 129 on a solid batting surface in Colombo. Led by single seamer Marufa Akter and supported by five spinners, the team challenged Pakistan with swing and spin, highlighting poor ball choice from a squad that had gone undefeated through the qualifiers.

Pakistan will be dissatisfied with their performance after deciding to bat first, as just two batters, Rameen Shamim and Fatima Sana, scored more than 20, and the best partnership was 42. 

Bangladesh, which hadn't played professional cricket since its qualifying matches in April, showed no indications of rustiness. They bowled well, fielded well, and grabbed their opportunities, and will be confident of winning the World Cup's second game after defeating Pakistan in 2022.

Marufa found swing and success quickly. She ended the first over with two wickets in two balls. The first ball was thrown to Omaima Sohail, who remained on the back foot, leaving a gap between bat and pad, and was bowled. 

The second, much better, jumped in and grabbed Sidra Amin's inner side on its way to the leg stump. This was her first golden duck in ODIs, and the first in any format since 2019. 

Muneeba Ali, a left-hander, faced Marufa's hat-trick ball at the beginning of the following over, but she played it well.

The tournament's youngest participant, offspinner Nishita Akter, grabbed the other new ball.  The first boundary came off her when Muneeba swept Nishita lightly and whisked her away into the backward square. The sweep became Pakistan's go-to shot, accounting for 20 of their first 45 runs.

This was Bangladesh's excellent strategy to include only one seamer, Marufa, and four spinners. Left-arm spinner Nahida Akter was included in the eighth over, as Muneeba and Shamim, who were batting at No.4 for the first time, began to relax. Nahida eliminated both. 

Muneeba chased a wide Nahida ball and sliced it to Nishita at point, bringing the third-wicket partnership to 42. In Nahida's next over, she sent it towards Shamim, who chipped it right back for the easiest of returns. Pakistan was 47 for 4 in the fourteenth over.

Aliya Riaz and Sidra Nawaz sparked a minor counterattack when Aliya reached the squad's fifty with a cut through backward point, and Nawaz struck both boundaries off Fahima Khatun.  

Three overs later, Nawaz was given not out by Rabeya Khan, and Bangladesh reviewed a tight decision. Replays showed the ball coming near to both the bat and the pad as it rolled back in. The third umpire, N Janani, determined it hit the pad first. Nawaz was out for fifteen minutes.

Sana stepped in at No.7 and smacked the sixth ball for four. She was the only batter to bring Marufa to the boundary, where she drove her through point. However, Bangladesh quickly applied the pressure again. 

Pakistan scored six runs off the following 24 balls, and the pressure started to build again. Aliya tried to smash Nishita over long-off but wasn't successful enough on it, and Marufa rushed in from the rope to take a fine catch. 

Sana did not endure much longer. Two overs later, she played the bad shot against Fahima, was struck on the front pad, and was out. Sana quickly reviewed, believing that both bat and pad were near the ball, but referee Janani affirmed the on-field call.

Shorna Akter, a leg spinner, got bounce and turned in her opening over, catching Natalia Pervaiz behind. Pakistan was at risk of getting knocked out within 35 overs. 

Nashra Sandhu left a full delivery from Shorna, and as her bat went down, she knocked her own stumps, becoming just the second batter to be removed for a hit wicket in the women's World Cups.

No runs were scored in Shorna's first three overs until Diana Baig smashed her for four, but the excitement was short-lived. Sadia Iqbal got out in the 39th over, with 69 balls remaining. Shorna's three-for-five performance was a career best.