Phoebe Litchfield led Australia’s batting charge to comfortable win

• Australia beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the first One-Day International.
• Nida Dar scored an important 59 from 88 balls for Pakistan.
• Rain stopped play for 90 minutes at the beginning of the game.

Debutant Phoebe Litchfield and returning captain Meg Lanning led the batting assault as Australia cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan Women’s side in the first One-Day International.

In a game that was cut short by rain, Pakistan made 160/8 in the allowed 40 overs thanks to an important innings by Nida Dar, who struck 59 from 88 balls.

After the early dismissal of Beth Mooney off Diana Baig in the first over, Lanning and Litchfield put up an incredible partnership of 137 runs in order to chase down the amended goal of 158 in 40 overs.

Lanning struck 67 off 76 balls while Litchfield, a young batsman, got not out on 78 due to Pakistan’s dismal performance on the field, which included two dropped catches and numerous misfields.

After rain stopped play for 90 minutes at the beginning of the game, Australian spinners dominated Pakistan’s batting earlier. The Green Shirts’ batting order was shaken up in the middle overs by Ashleigh Gardner, Jess Jonassen, and Alana King, while Darcie Brown got rid of both openers, Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali, just before the rain break.

Before being defeated by Ashleigh Gardener with a score of 28, skipper Bismah Maroof made a number of beautiful drives. Dar, though, stood out in spite of receiving ineffective assistance from the opposite end.

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