Invincibles crush Challengers to top National Women’s T20 Tournament

LAHORE: Gull Feroza’s fluent 43-run knock, followed by a collective bowling effort, led Invincibles to a resounding 30-run victory over Challengers in the fourth match of the National Women’s T20 Tournament here at the Ghani Glass Cricket Ground on Monday.

Invincibles captain Muneeba Ali’s decision to bat first proved beneficial as her side piled up 168/5 in their 20 overs.

Leading the way for them was opening batter Gull Feroza, who made a blistering 43 off 24 deliveries, studded with seven boundaries to finish as joint top-scorer, sharing the honour with Maham Anees, who took 38 balls and smashed three fours and two sixes. For her brisk knock, Feroza was adjudged the Player of the Match. Middle-order batter Iram Javed also made a handy contribution with a brisk 35 off 25 deliveries, comprising three fours and a six.

For Challengers, Neelam Mushtaq and captain Diana Baig bagged two wickets each, while Arijah Haseeb made one scalp. Set to chase a daunting 169-run target, the Challengers could accumulate 138/8 in their 20 overs despite Natalia Pervaiz’s blistering cameo in the middle.

Pervaiz made 31 off just 17 deliveries with the help of four fours and a six after walking out to bat at No.4 with the scoreboard reading 53/2. She also shared a 27-run partnership for the fifth-wicket with Arijah, who remained their top-scorer with an unbeaten run-a-ball 37, comprising four boundaries.

Momina Riasat and Noreen Yaqoob co-led Invincibles’ bowling charge with two wickets each, while Syeda Aroob Shah and Ambar Kainat chipped in with one apiece. The 30-run victory, which marked Invincibles’ second in as many matches, lifted them to the summit of the National Women’s T20 Tournament standings with four points, while Challengers are yet to taste triumph, having also suffered defeat at the hands of Stars in the curtain raiser. Monitoring Desk