Western Warriors crowned champions U18 Women's T20

Western Warriors chased down the 87-run target in 14.4 overs as their captain Ayesha Naseem top-scored with an unbeaten 34 from 17 balls. Photo: PCBWestern Warriors beat Northern Renegades by eight wickets to win the inaugural Skills 2 Shine U18 Women’s Cricket T20 Championship at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.The tournament is part of Pakistan Cricket Board’s efforts to identify and develop a pool of cricketers ahead of the 2021 International Cricket Council U19 Women’s T20 World Cup and promote the sport among young girls.The tournament included four teams, which were finalised by the national women’s selection committee after trials from all over the country. A total of seven matches, including the final, were played with the group matches staged at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground.In the final on Sunday, Western Warriors chased down the 87-run target in 14.4 overs as their captain Ayesha Naseem top-scored with an unbeaten 34 from 17 balls, while other notable performance came from opener Saima Malik who scored 26 not out from 48 balls.Northern Renegades’ right-arm medium Misbah Gul and slow left-arm Anoosha Nasir picked up three and two wickets respectively.Earlier, Northern Renegades, after electing to bat, made 86 for six in 20 overs on the back of 28 off 42 by opener Shawal Zulfiqar and 15 not out from 17 balls by Humna Bilal.Western Warrior’s Nazish Rafique played a crucial role in keeping the flow of runs in check as the slow left-armer took three wickets for 13 runs in four overs.For their match-winning performances, Nazish and Ayesha shared the player of the final award.Northern Renegades’ Aima Saleem picked up the player of the tournament award for being the highest run getter in the tournament with 150 runs in four matches. She also picked up two wickets.The top players of the tournament will go through a specialised academy programme, which will focus on skills, fitness and athlete development training. The details of the programme will be announced shortly.Scores in brief:Northern Renegades 86-6, 20 overs (Shawal Zulfiqar 28, Humna Bilal 15 not out; Nazish Rafique 3-13)Western Warriors 90-2, 14.4 overs (Ayesha Naseem 34 not out, Saima Malik 26 not out)Result: Western Warriors won the final by eight wickets

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