Pakistan overcome India loss to book Women’s Asia Cup semi-finals with win in Hong Kong

Pakistan managed to bounce back from their loss to India to seal their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup as Nashra Sandhu produced a record-breaking spell. Sandhu became the first bowler from Pakistan to take six wickets in a women’s T20I as Hong Kong were bowled out for 144 in China.

Hong Kong, China reached 28 for 2 when Sandhu was introduced immediately after the Powerplay. Their openers have already fallen in quick succession, with Mariko Hill registering her third successive duck and Natasha Miles dismissed by Sadia Iqbal off the first delivery she faced.

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Sandhu quickly took control of the contest. She ended a promising partnership between Yasmin Daswani and Kary Chan, which proved to be Hong Kong’s only meaningful opposition with the bat.

The left-arm spinner then struck twice in the space of four balls to remove Marina Lamplough and Maryam Bibi, leaving the batting side in serious trouble at 40 for 5 and effectively ending any hopes of an unlikely recovery.

Sandhu continued the line-up, dismissing Shanzeen Shahzad and Alison Sui in succession to complete the hat-trick. Mixing generous flight with occasional quicker deliveries, she eventually claimed her sixth wicket off the last ball of her spell.

The performance marked Sandhu’s first five-wicket haul in T20 internationals and gave her the best bowling figures ever recorded by a Pakistani in the format. It was also the second six-goal haul of the tournament, following Chamari Athapaththu’s remarkable 7-5 against Indonesia last week.

Sandhu also became only the third Pakistani bowler to register a five in a women’s T20I. Nida Dar achieved this feat against Sri Lanka in 2018, while Omaima Sohail repeated it against the same opposition in 2022.

Kary Chan offered some resistance and scored 30 before being dismissed by Ayesha Zafar in the 16th over. Joyleen Kaur was the last to bat as Hong Kong and China posted a 71-run stand to give Pakistan a comfortable 72-run victory.

Kaur had earlier struck with the ball and returned impressive figures of 4 for 19 to keep Pakistan’s score in check. Only four Pakistani batsmen reached double figures, with Shawaal Zulfiqar leading the way with 47 off 35 balls.

Pakistan looked to be in a strong position at 92 for 2 but suffered a collapse that saw them slump to 101 for 6, giving Hong Kong and China a chance to restrict them to a modest total. However, Pakistan recovered enough to post 143, which eventually proved well beyond their opponents’ reach.

The win confirmed Pakistan’s place in the last four, where they will face Sri Lanka in the second semi-final on September 11.

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Published on:

08 Sep 2026 02:36 IST