Pakistan captain Fatima Sana gave a fiery send-off to India’s Shafali Verma on Saturday (September 5)’s Asia Cup clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
India were chasing a record-low total of 56 in the second innings, and Shafali, as she does, tried to put the sword into the opponent with a quick start. She hit a huge six on the first ball and took India to 14/0 in the first eight balls. Fatima, one of the best all-rounders in the world, shortened her length on the third ball, and Shafali tried to tuck it away, only to get a thick outside edge into the air, which the bowler caught.
Fatima, probably a bit frustrated, indicated the way to the dressing room to Shafali. Watch it here:
Fatime Sana strikes!!pic.twitter.com/Xmtb1oFreK
— PctMedia
(@PctMediaa) September 5, 2026
The skipper struck again on the last ball of the over, this time making Pratika Rawal give a catch behind on an ungainly push outside the off-stump. In her next over, Smriti Mandhana got a brilliant flick away for a boundary, but Fatima came back even better to get her LBW, plumb in front with a nip-backer.
This was the second time Fatima took three wickets inside the powerplay in a T20I match — the first instance came against Zimbabwe in Karachi earlier this year — becoming the first Pakistani to do it twice. She is also only the fourth bowler to do so against India Women.
This was a remarkable display of Fatima’s skill — and of how far ahead she is than her teammates — that none of India’s pacers managed any wickets on the pitch.
Unfortunately for her, these were the only three wickets Pakistan took in the match. India chased down the total in only 8.4 overs, with India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur scoring a run-a-ball 18 and Deepti Sharma contributing 12 (14).
