LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan opened their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 Qualifier campaign with a 38-run victory over Ireland in a tense, low-scoring match at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s seam bowler Diana Baig and left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu starred with the ball, helping dismiss Ireland for 179.
Diana claimed four wickets, including the key scalp of opener Sarah Forbes in her opening spell.
She returned to clean up the lower order, removing Christina Coulter Reilly, Louise Little and Arlene Kelly.
Nashra was equally effective, picking up three vital wickets — Irish captain Gaby Lewis, Amy Hunter and Laura Delany — preventing Ireland’s top order from building momentum during the chase.
The match ended with a run-out, as Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana lobbed the ball to Nashra at the non-striker’s end to dismiss Cara Murray, sealing the win for the hosts.
No Irish batter managed to reach a half-century, though both Lewis and Hunter contributed 44 runs each.
Earlier, Pakistan’s innings fell short of a competitive total after a strong platform. From 153 for three, they collapsed and were bowled out for 217 in the 49th over.
Aliya Riaz top-scored with a fluent 52 off 58 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six. Sidra Amin added a patient 50 from 110 deliveries, striking three boundaries.
Ireland’s Jane Maguire was the standout bowler, finishing with figures of 3 for 33 from her 10 overs. She removed Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali and wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz.
Gull Feroza made her ODI debut in the match, having already represented Pakistan in T20 internationals.
With this win, Pakistan topped the table with a net run rate of 0.76. The six-team qualifying tournament — featuring Pakistan, Ireland, Bangladesh, Scotland, Thailand and West Indies — is being played in a single round-robin format across two venues in Lahore from April 9 to 19.
The PCB stated that the event will determine the two teams that qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, scheduled to be held in India later this year.
Pakistan are hosting an ICC women’s event for the first time and have won both warm-up matches against Thailand and West Indies.
Pakistan are competing in the World Cup Qualifier for the fourth time, having successfully qualified for the main tournament on all three previous occasions.
