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Pakistan survived a major scare from Thailand before completing a tense three-wicket chase to reach the women's cricket semi-finals at the Asian Games 2026 here on Thursday.
Chasing a revised target of 92 from 11 overs in a rain-affected quarter-final, Pakistan slipped to 47 for four before a 25-run over led by captain Fatima Sana turned the contest in their favour. They eventually reached the target with two balls to spare, according to the ICC. The match had been delayed by almost two hours due to a wet outfield, with Pakistan opting to bowl after winning the toss. The reduced powerplay lasted only 3.2 overs, during which Sana struck early to dismiss experienced Thailand opener Natthakan Chantham. Nannapat Koncharoenkai then anchored Thailand's innings, finding boundaries around the ground while building a partnership with captain Naruemol Chaiwai. She accelerated after the sixth over, hitting consecutive fours off Umm-e-Hani in a 14-run over. Koncharoenkai moved to 49 in the final over, but Sana denied her a half-century by trapping her in front with a full delivery. Sana finished with two for 22, while Nashra Sandhu accounted for Chaiwai as Thailand posted 91 for four. Pakistan made a flying start to the chase through Shawaal Zulfiqar, who struck three fours and a six in the opening three overs. Thailand, however, responded with a remarkable spell that saw four Pakistan wickets fall for 11 runs in 14 balls. Zulfiqar was dismissed for 25 off 14 balls by off-spinner Onnicha Kamchomphu, who also accounted for Ayesha Zafar for one, Gull Feroza for 16 and Aliya Riaz. Pakistan had slumped from 36 for no loss to 47 for four and needed 45 runs from the final 30 deliveries. Sana then took charge, hitting two boundaries and a six through the leg side before a chance at long-off was dropped, with the resulting misfield bringing another boundary. Eyman Fatima finished the over with a six as Pakistan collected 25 runs from it to reduce the equation to 19 from 18 balls. Sana fell at the start of the next over after scoring 21 from 13 deliveries, and only three runs came from the over. Eyman Fatima was then caught in the 10th over with Pakistan still 15 runs short. Tuba Hassan revived Pakistan's chase with a six and a four, bringing the target down to four from seven balls. Hassan was caught at fine leg off the final ball of the penultimate over, but Eman Naseer and Umm-e-Hani held their nerve to complete the chase with four singles from the next four deliveries. The victory extends Pakistan's strong record at the Asian Games, where they are two-time gold medallists. It also gave them another win over Thailand after their 35-run victory in the Women's Asia Cup in Dubai earlier this month. Pakistan will face the winner of the Malaysia-Sri Lanka quarter-final in the semi-final on September 20. Earlier, Bangladesh advanced to the semi-finals after rain washed out their quarter-final against China. Bangladesh will face the winner of India's quarter-final against Japan on September 20. (ANI)
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