Strikers clinched the National Women’s T20 Tournament title with a dramatic one-run victory over Stars in the final on Monday, defending a modest total of 115 at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Led by Natalia Parvaiz, Strikers held their nerve in a tense finish as pacer Syeda Masooma Zahra defended 11 runs in the final over, restricting Stars to 114-8 in their 20 overs.
The victory capped an unbeaten campaign for Strikers, who won all nine of their matches in the tournament. They received a cash prize of Rs1.5 million, while runners-up Stars earned Rs1 million.
Stars appeared within reach of victory through Sadaf Shamas, the tournament’s leading batter, who scored 37 from 38 balls, including three fours and two sixes. Diana Baig added an unbeaten 16 from 17 deliveries to keep the chase alive.
Diana struck a four off the first ball of the final over, but Stars could not find the runs needed to complete the chase.
Off-spinner Rameen Shamim played a decisive role in Strikers’ defence, returning figures of two wickets for nine runs from four overs. Fellow off-spinner Omaima Sohail conceded only 11 runs in her four overs and took two wickets.
After opting to bat, Strikers made a brisk start through Eman Naseer, who scored 20 from 12 balls, and Aqsa Habib. The team subsequently lost five wickets for 58 runs before captain Natalia steadied the innings with a top score of 30 off 31 balls.
Contributions from Huraina Sajjad (16) and Rameen (15) helped Strikers reach 115 all out in 19 overs.
Leg-spinner Hafsa Khalid led the Stars attack with 4-29, while captain leg-spinner Tuba Hassan claimed 2-17. Diana also took two wickets.
Rameen was named player of the match, while Syeda Aroob Shah of Invincibles won player of the tournament award after scoring 134 runs and taking ten wickets.
Sadaf finished as the tournament’s leading batter with 285 runs, while Rameen topped the bowling charts with 19 wickets.