Fatima Sana to join Pakistan team on Sunday

Skipper Fatima Sana will join the team back in Dubai on Sunday, October 13, ahead of Pakistan’s must-win group-stage encounter against New Zealand on Monday. She had earlier left for Karachi, her hometown, on October 10 after her father passed away. 

Pakistan must win this game by a huge margin to allow themselves a chance to end amongst the top 2 teams in Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. 

However, if India win their game against Australia on Sunday, their hopes for a semifinal spot would end as both New Zealand and India already have four points with a much better net run rate. Pakistan have just defeated Sri Lanka in their group stage encounters. 

After being appointed Pakistan women's team captain, this was the first World Cup assignment for the 22-year-old all-rounder. She also helped Pakistan win their first game in the tournament. 

Despite facing a six-wicket defeat against India in their second game, their qualification chances were still in a healthy state, however the nine wicket defeat against Australia plummeted their NRR further. 

Muneeba Ali captained Pakistan against Australia in Sana’s absence. However, she failed to motivate her team to play with intensity. 

Pakistan were meek with the bat, with only Aliya Riaz scoring above 20 and the entire team only scoring four boundaries in the innings. Australia chased down the target with nine overs still remaining in the game. 

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