Sadia Iqbal’s 3 for 17 kept Pakistan in the game

Pakistan convincingly beat Sri Lanka by 31 runs in a low-scoring encounter at the Women's T20 World Cup in Sharjah.

Chasing only 117 for victory, Sri Lanka slipped to 35-3 with captain and star batter Chamari Athapaththu gone for just six, and they failed to recover without her experience.

On a sluggish pitch, Nilakshi de Silva's 22 off 25 and Vishmi Gunaratne's 20 from 34 balls was Sri Lanka's only resistance as they crawled to 85-9 from 20 overs, with only three boundaries struck in a dismal batting effort.

Pakistan's spinners then utilised the scoreboard pressure to close in on victory, led by Sadia Iqbal's 3-17 as spin accounted for seven Sri Lankan wickets and 14 in the match altogether.
Both teams face a big challenge in their second match, with Sri Lanka taking on defending champions Australia on Saturday and Pakistan looking to bounce back against rivals India the following day. (Agencies)

Chief scores:

Pakistan: 116 in 20 overs (Nida Dar 23, Fatima Sana 30, Chamari Athapaththu 3-18, Sugandika Kumari 3-19, Udeshika Prabodhani 3-20, Kavisha Dilhari 1-15)
Sri Lanka: 85 for 9 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 20, Nilakshika Silva 22, Sadia Iqbal 3-17, Fatima Sana 2-10, Nashra Sandhu 2-15, Omaima Sohail 2-17)