KUALA LAMPUR: The fifth-place playoff of the ACC U19 Women’s Asia Cup 2024 between Pakistan and hosts Malaysia at the Bayuemas Oval here on Wednesday was washed out due to rain.
Opting to bat first, the green shirts accumulated 115 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs, thanks to a recovering knock by middle-order batter Areesha Ansari.
Pakistan got off to a dismal start to their innings as they lost three wickets with just 17 runs on the board in 3.1 overs.
Skipper Zoofishan Ayyaz and Maham Anees then briefly anchored the innings with a cautious 31-run partnership before both perished in quick succession, bringing the total down to 58/5 in 12 overs.
Maham made 22 off 26, while Zoofishan scored 13 from 21 balls.
Coming out to bat number six, Areesha took the reins of Pakistan’s batting expedition and took their total past the 100-run mark with a sensible knock.
The right-handed batter carried her bat all the way through and returned unbeaten with a top score of 42 from just 35 deliveries, which featured six boundaries.
Areesha was also involved in an unbeaten 44-run partnership for the seventh-wicket with lower-middle order Quratulain Ahsen, who scored 11 not out from 14 balls.
For Malaysia, Nur Isma Dania Binti Mohd Daniel, Nur Dania Syuhada, Marsya Qistina Binti Abdullah made one scalp apiece.
In response, the home side had slipped to 5/2 in 3.2 overs, courtesy of Mahnoor Zeb’s brilliant opening spell, before the match was stopped due to rain and ultimately ended in a no result.
As a result, Pakistan capped off the ACC U19 Women’s Asia Cup 2024 winless as they had suffered defeats at the hands of arch-rivals India and Nepal in the group stage of the ongoing tournament.