Pakistan Women produced a dominant display in the opening T20I of their women’s tour against Zimbabwe Women, with Ayesha Zafar rewriting her own recent numbers and steering her side to an emphatic 153-run victory in Karachi on May 12. Her unbeaten effort of 102 came off 47 balls and lifted Pakistan to 237/5—marking the first time they have cleared the 200-mark in T20I cricket—before Zimbabwe were bowled out for 84 in 18.2 overs.
Zafar’s surge and Pakistan’s record total
- Before the match, Zafar had managed only one six across 28 T20 innings, and her strike rate in the early part of her career sat in the low 80s.
- In this game, she struck 2 sixes and 15 fours, driving Pakistan to a record-packed win with a joint third-fastest Women’s T20I hundred in terms of pace.
- Pakistan made 237/5 in 20 overs, a total that arrived with Zafar playing a central role as she remained unbeaten on 102 off 47 balls.
- By the end of her innings, Zafar’s career strike rate had risen to 97, underlining how much her performance changed the picture.
- After returning to the Pakistan XI in March following nearly two years away, the 31-year-old made an instant impact, thriving on the leg side and converting her maiden T20 fifty into three figures.
- In the second over, Zafar repeatedly shuffled onto the back foot and attacked the leg side, repeatedly pulling anything short toward the midwicket or square-leg boundary.
- On 20, she received a brief reprieve when her square-leg shot produced a dropped chance, but she continued to attack that area.
- She also punished balls that were bowled too full, striking them firmly back down the ground.
- Gull Feroza provided an early jolt for Zimbabwe, departing for 37 off 19 balls, but Zafar kept the momentum steady.
- Zafar charged to 40 off 18 before easing slightly, reaching her fifty in 29 balls.
- From the 16-over stage, she accelerated again, leaning into power hitting against the faster bowlers—especially through shots that found the V-shaped gaps and toward midwicket, using the crease to open up room.
- A productive 67-run stand off 35 balls with Aliya Riaz (48) and then a rapid 70-run partnership off just 27 deliveries with Fatima Sana helped Pakistan cross 200 for the first time in T20Is.
- Zafar sealed her century with a four on the final ball, finishing the innings unbeaten and setting up a massive margin.
Zimbabwe’s chase collapses in the Powerplay
Zimbabwe Women struggled to keep pace from the outset, with wickets arriving in clusters during the Powerplay. Fatima Sana struck twice in quick succession in the third over, removing Beloved Biza and Kelly Ndiraya in back-to-back deliveries to reduce Zimbabwe to 14/3.
Even with three boundaries during the sixth over, the visitors slipped to 30/5 at the end of the Powerplay. After that, there was little resistance. Opener Natasha Mtomba top-scored with 24 and remained at the crease until the tenth over, but no other batter managed to reach 20.
Sana finished with figures of 3-7, becoming the leading wicket-taker among T20I quicks for Pakistan Women (46). Zimbabwe were eventually dismissed for 84 all out in 18.2 overs, handing Pakistan their biggest-ever win by runs in T20Is.
Zafar was named Player of the Match and now sits alongside Muneeba Ali as the only other Pakistan Women batter to score a T20I century.
Brief scores: Pakistan Women 237/5 in 20 overs (Ayesha Zafar 102*, Aliya Riaz 48; Nomvelo Sibanda 2-59, Michelle Mavunga 1-23) beat Zimbabwe Women 84 all out in 18.2 overs (Natasha Mtomba 24, Adel Zimunu 18; Fatima Sana 3-7, Natalia Pervaiz 2-3) by 153 runs.
