LAHORE: The National Women’s T20 Tournament 2025-26 witnessed another commanding performance as Invincibles defeated Challengers by 30 runs at the Ghani Glass Cricket Ground here on Monday.
Defending a competitive total of 168, Invincibles’ spinners sealed the win to take their side to the top of the table with four points from two matches. Batting first, Invincibles got off to a brisk start with captain Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza racing to 36 in just 3.1 overs. Muneeba fell for 12 off 10 balls, but Gull continued fluently, striking seven boundaries in her 43 off 24 balls.
She was well supported by Maham Anees, who anchored the innings with another 43 off 38 balls, including three fours and two sixes. Together with Iram Javed (35 off 25), Maham added 64 runs for the third wicket, taking Invincibles to 133/2 after 15 overs.
Late contributions from Noreen Yaqoob (19 off 14) and Syeda Aroob Shah (7 not out) pushed the total to 168/5 in 20 overs. For Challengers, Neelam Mushtaq (2/27) and Diana Baig (2/28) were the pick of the bowlers.
Challengers’ reply began disastrously with Sidra Nawaz run out without facing a ball. At 27/2 in the fifth over, the chase was already under pressure. Natalia Pervaiz injected momentum with a brisk 31 off 17 balls, striking four fours and a six, but her dismissal in the 11th over left Challengers at 85/5, still needing 84 runs.
Arijah Haseeb fought hard with an unbeaten 37 off 37 balls, but lacked support from the other end. With wickets tumbling regularly, Challengers finished at 138/8 in 20 overs, falling 30 runs short.
Invincibles’ spinners were instrumental in defending the total. Noreen Yaqoob backed up her batting with 2/25, while Momina Riasat chipped in with 2/28. Their control in the middle overs ensured Challengers never recovered after early setbacks.
