Image Credit- Getty
Prior to Sunday, all Asian women’s teams that played
in New Zealand—Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—had lost every T20I
match they had. But Nida Dar’s team has overturned all that in Dunedin over the
last two days, winning the first Twenty20 International on Sunday and then
going one better on Tuesday to win the second Twenty20 International and
complete the series.
After the team’s second victory, a beaming Bismah
Maroof discussed the effect this victory will have on “all the girls back
home” in addition to the team’s confidence.
“We’d been struggling for results for a while –
it’s a big moment for us,” she said in a video released by PCB. “As a
team, the way we showed character is outstanding. It’s a great moment for us
and for all the girls back home. This is a morale booster for us, and we’ll
carry the confidence of this, and it’s something that will give youngsters
confidence too.”
Although Pakistan has historically found it difficult
to defeat the more powerful nations, there are signs that this may be starting
to change. Pakistan won one of the three ODIs in the series that followed after
defeating South Africa 3-0 in a T20I series played at home in September. Dar
was excited to emphasise it, and she said she wanted to expand on it.
“It’s been our wish for a long time that we
perform this way against the big teams and beat the big teams,” she said.
“Our team is gelling together nicely. The girls have taken lessons from
the way cricket is played around the world and their intent is now obvious. Now
we’re getting results; we won a series against South Africa and now New
Zealand. I’m sure it’s onwards and upwards from here.
“It’d be nice to get a whitewash – we got a
whitewash against South Africa, so we want to do it against the White Ferns.
The conditions [in Dunedin] suit us, though it’s a bit windy, which can cause
us problems. But the girls are responsible and [are] executing their roles
perfectly and that makes me very optimistic.”