Pakistan captain Fatima Sana attacked Shafali Verma’s innings against India

Pakistan captain Fatima Sana has come under fire for her inclusion in Shafali Verma’s team during the Women’s Asia Cup match against India in Dubai on Saturday. Fatima dismissed the Indian opener for 12 off six balls before pointing to Shafali as she walked back to the pavilion.

The moment came shortly after Shafali made history by becoming youngest and fastest batsman to 3000 runs in women’s T20Is. She reached the milestone at 22 years and 220 days, achieving the feat in a single after opening her innings with a six against left-armer Sadia Iqbal.

India vs Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup: Highlights | Scorecard

Commentator Vivek Razdan criticized Fatima’s reaction and questioned her actions after Pakistan collapsed to 55, their lowest total in a women’s T20I. “Okay, you are showing her the way out. Your whole team scored just 55 runs and now you are sending Shafali Verma back,” said Razdan.

After her first six, Shafali completed her milestone of 3000 runs with a single. After another single, the right-armer smashed Fatima for four before the Pakistan captain had the last word.

FATIMA TAKES THREE WICKETS BUT INDIA SWIMS HOME

Fatima was Pakistan’s outstanding bowler despite the heavy defeat. She removed Shafali, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana to finish with 3-0-17-3, taking all three wickets for India. Her first over produced the crucial wicket of Shafali as she came back to dismiss Mandhan for 9 after conceding a boundary on the previous delivery.

However, Fatima’s efforts could not prevent India from completing a comfortable chase. Pakistan had a disastrous day with the bat after Indian spinners Shree Charani and Prema Rawat claimed three wickets while Deepti Sharma took two. Pakistan collapsed from a promising 27 not out, losing the last 10 wickets for just 28 runs.

India lost three wickets in the chase but Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma remained unbeaten to take the team to 57 for three in 8.4 overs, sealing a seven-wicket win with 68 balls to spare. Harmanpreet finished on 18 not out while Deepti contributed an unbeaten 12.

India have already qualified for the semi-finals and finished the group stage undefeated. Pakistan, on the other hand, are yet to qualify, with their last group match against Hong Kong.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

06 Sep 2026 0:37 IST