Cricket News & Updates ⇒ Sana's all-round heroics take Pakistan to ODI World Cup

[Em Vicky Khan]

Pakistan 205 for 6 (Amin 80, Sana 62*, Putthawong 2-37) beat Thailand 118 (Shamim 3-18, Sandhu 3-19, Sana 3-39) by 87 runs

Pakistan confirmed their participation at the Women's ODI World Cup after beating Thailand by 87 runs to secure their fourth win of the qualifier. Pakistan, with eight points, are at the top of the table and can only be matched by Bangladesh, who they play on Saturday and are in pole position to take the second World Cup spot.


Two other teams - Scotland and West Indies - are also in contention. In order to qualify, Scotland and West Indies need to win their matches against Ireland and Thailand respectively by big margins and hope Bangladesh lose badly enough to Pakistan to dip below them in net run rate terms. Bangladesh can qualify for the World Cup even if they lose to Pakistan and both Scotland and West Indies win their final matches because of their net run rate advantage.

Pakistan will be thrilled to have avoided the intricacies of calculations like these after they booked their World Cup places with a game to spare. They are also unbeaten on home turf and have rediscovered their form. Before the qualifiers, Pakistan had last won an ODI in December 2023 and were on a five-game losing streak. In the last week, they put that right and reeled off four straight wins, albeit not always easily, and will now play in their fifth successive World Cup.