Published: Jul 08, 2017, 08:15 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 07, 2017, 11:00 PM (IST)
Suzie Bates-led New Zealand will take on Sana Mir’s Pakistan in the 17th match of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. The teams have had contrasting results in their previous matches. While New Zealand Women won comfortably by 8 wickets against West Indies, Pakistan team was thrashed by world champions Australia: they lost the match by 159 runs.
New Zealand, who have been led from the front by skipper Bates, had a sparkling performance from wicketkeeper-batter Rachel Priest, who smashed a 55-ball 90. However, it was some terrific bowling from off-spinner Leigh Kasperek — who took 3 for 17 — that set up the match for White Ferns.
On the other hand, Pakistan have been poor with the bat. After failing to chase down a target of 170 against India and getting bowled out for a meagre 74, they were once again dismissed cheaply in their last match against Australia. Except Mir, none of the batters showed any sort of resistance against the Australian bowling line-up.
When these two teams will clash in Saturday’s contest, it will be their 10th meeting in this format. The White Ferns have completely dominated in their head-to-head meetings and have won all 9 encounters. This will give Bates and her team a lot of confidence going into the match as they will look to solidify their position for the semi-finals. With their next two matches against relatively stronger oppositions (England and India), New Zealand will be eager to get the two points under their belt against Pakistan.
For Pakistan, it will be a matter of self-respect. They are out of the semi-final race having lost all their 4 matches and will have to play as if they have nothing to lose. However, it’ll require a splendid effort from both their batters and bowlers to pull off a win against the mighty New Zealand.
The match will be played at The Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton. With the White Ferns already having played their last match at the same venue, they will have the added advantage of knowing the pitch and the conditions. All 4 matches so far at Taunton have been low-scoring affairs. Teams batting first have found it difficult to put up healthy totals on the board, as a result of which teams batting second have chased down the targets with ease.
Squads:
Pakistan Women: Sana Mir (c), Sidra Nawaz (wk), Ayesha Zafar, Nahida Khan, Marina Iqbal, Nain Abidi, Iram Javed, Asmavia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Yousuf, Diana Baig, Waheeda Akhtar, Ghulam Fatima, Kainat Imtiaz, Javeria Khan
New Zealand Women: Suzie Bates (c), Rachel Priest (wk), Sophie Devine, Katey Martin, Amy Satterthwaite, Katie Perkins, Maddy Green, Lea Tahuhu, Amelia Kerr, Leigh Kasperek, Holly Huddleston, Anna Peterson, Hannah Rowe, Thamsyn Newton, Erin Bermingham.
Time: 10:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST
