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5:00 PM IST and Local Time: Even the easiest of paths are jammed with barriers. But its the blend of dedication, skill, and discipline that helps one overcome these barriers. Such was the case with Pakistan Women as they walked into the chase of 211 runs. Although majority of the job was done by the 36th over, Sri Lankan bowlers kept testing them and dragged the contest until the 44th over.

The Result??

Eventually, Pakistan Women seal the deal on the back of two mesmerising knocks. Gull Feroza's flamboyant start and Sidra Amin's measured anchoring knock were central to Pakistan Women's five wicket triumph over Sri Lanka Women in the first WODI. Walking into the chase under pleasant conditions, the Pakistan openers Sadar Shamas and Gull Feroza got off to a good start. Despite swing purchased by the Lankan opening bowlers, the pair orchestrated a 50-plus partnership.

Chamari Athapaththu fragmented the 58-run opening partnership in the tenth over. Despite a wicket, Pakistan looked in total control in the chase. Feroza struck the ball beat, caressing the gaps on either side of the square. She quickly raced to a fifty under the assistance of Sidra Amin. The latter anchored the chase while Feroza accelerated to narrow down the deficit quickly. As the partnership grew 90 in the 29th over, Feroza was plumb in front off Kavisha Dilhari.

However, Amin kept going and chalked up a mesmerising century with Ayesha Zafar at the other end. 37 was needed from the final 14 overs when Pakistan started to lose wickets against the run of play. Firstly, Amin departed for 57 before Muneeba Ali followed suit for a solo. The Sri Lankan spinners tried to apply more pressure but the runs remaining in the board was too meagre for them to stop. Eventually, Pakistan Women overhauled the total with 41 balls and five wickets remaining, claiming a 1-0 series lead.

Earlier, Sri Lanka opted to bat first and got off to a solid start. Vishmi Gunaratne along with her skipper Chamari Athapaththu added 56 for the first wicket before the former fell on 28 in the 12th over. Athapaththu looked good at the crease before she got cleaned up four short of her fifty.

It allowed Pakistan to pull back things. Hasini Perera and Kavisha Dilhari each scored 35 but the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nilakshi de Silva played a fighting knock and remained unbeaten on 46, helping Sri Lanka get to 210/9 at the end of their 50 overs.

Nashra Sandhu (3/42) picked up three wickets for Pakistan. Tasmia Rubab (2/34) picked up two whereas skipper Fatima Sana (1/50), Umm-e-Hani (1/38) and Syeda Aroob Shah (1/26) grabbed one apiece.

Stay tuned for the presentation.

Time for post-match presentation...

Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka Women Captain): "[250 would have been a good score to defend?] Yeah, exactly. Definitely, as a batting unit, we have to take that responsibility. If we score 250+, it would have been a different game. 210 was not good enough to defend.

[Thoughts on Pakistan's batting?] They batted really well according to the plans. They played positive cricket in the middle. We had a good powerplay while we were batting. But in the middle overs, we didn't play our best cricket. The Pakistani bowlers bowled well from the 20th over to the 50th over.

[Things to improve before the next game?] I think we need to improve our batting. We have to play positive cricket in the middle overs. The bowlers bowled well but we have to execute our plans and hit the right lengths because these conditions are very good for batting."

Gull Feroza (Player of the Match): "(On yet another half-century) Thank you. I just tried to play my game, and I think that helped me a lot today.

(On her natural game) Earlier, I used to play a much more attacking brand of cricket. But now I've adjusted a little because the conditions here are different. I couldn't finish the game today, but I'm happy that I was able to contribute to the team.

(On mental preparation) I think our practice sessions in the nets prepared us well. The wicket early on played quite similarly to what we experienced in practice. So I just backed my normal game, took my time at the start, and that helped me build my innings.

(On playing sweep shot quite frequently) Sri Lankans were bowling consistently in one channel, and the sweep is one of my strongest shots. So I kept playing it whenever the opportunity came."

Fatima Sana (Pakistan Women Captain): "[Happy with the win?] Yeah, definitely. Because when we won the match, we get 2 points as well in the Championship. That's the most important thing.

[On their overall effort today?] Today, our bowlers did a great job. We know we have senior batters in the team. They took the responsibility today.

[Message to the youngsters before the game?] Just told them to explore yourselves and enjoy the ODI format. Once you start enjoying the format, things naturally begin to go your way. So my message is simply to enjoy the game.

[Things to carry forward in the next game?] Just try and continue the things. We thought it was a pacy track. But when we took the field, it was a spinning track. Our bowlers did the job and the credit goes to them.

[Were you worried that you would be required to bat?] I was not worried at the time. I just thought it will finish in the third wicket. But Muneeba and Najiha played slowly. I think they got a chance to play and they will continue in the next game."

That's it from this first ODI between the two Asian sides. Pakistan Women dent the hosts, Sri Lanka Women in Hambantota to gain a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. We hope you enjoyed the coverage. Will the hosts bounce back in the second ODI? We shall get to know in a couple of days time.

Taking your leave is Arijit Kundu on behalf of esteemed co-commentator jury of Pritam Dey, Deepak Prakash, and Akshay Bhide. Ghanendra Singh Jadon aka. GST takes the scoring courtesy. Stick around Crickxo and see yaa.