Strong comebacks from subdued starts with both bat and ball saw Pakistan take control against Rwanda and take home a hard fought victory by 8 wickets on day two of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 held in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Rwanda’s U19 Women impressed on the country’s first-ever appearance at an ICC World Cup but were eventually undone by Pakistan’s quality with the bat.

Leonard Nhamburo’s side won the toss and chose to bat first but had a slow start to the game and were too late to make important runs before the inning break.

In fact, both teams got off to an erratic start on a slow wicket.

Despite a 51-run stand for the second wicket between Cynthia Tuyizere (20 from 34) and Gisele Ishimwe (40 from 49), Pakistan’s improved bowling effort in the second half of the innings ensured that Rwanda were unable to build on that platform, ending with 106/8.

Areesha Noor Bhatti (2/19), Syeda Aroob Shah (1/22) and Anosha Nasir (1/21) made their mark with the ball.

A charged-up Rwanda kept Pakistan quiet initially, holding them to 42/2 at the halfway stage of the chase. However, player-of-the-match Eyman Fatima (65* from 60) and Aroob Shah (20* from 21) went through the gears to take the attack to the opposition and sealed the game in the 18th over.

Rwanda will be looking to bounce back from the defeat when they play Zimbabwe on January 17 at NW University Oval in a must-win clash that would see the young guns progress to the next stage of the World Cup, which is the Super Six.

Rwanda will conclude their group stage campaign with mouthwatering tie against favorites England on January 19 at the same venue.