Women’s World Cup T20 2024 – Fatima Sana’s Pakistan look set to hit India hard with improved power play

Pakistan opened the tournament with a bang against Sri Lanka, and have been riding a wave of recent success in terms of development, not just results.

Hitting sixes comes with a certain mindset that Sana believes has slowly seeped into Pakistan’s batting DNA. He believes it wasn’t always like that.

“If you look at the last series in South Africa, many of our girls have improved in power hitting,” said Sana. “In the previous game in South Africa, our team scored six goals in one game.

“I think the girls believe that even if the fielders are behind but if they hit they can go to six. It’s good that all the girls are confident in this. Personally, I used to hit a lot but I was hitting. I didn’t know if I could hit or not. But with that belief now it’s very easy.”

Wasim is supported by Hanif Malik, who he worked with at Multan Sultans, to help with the batting range. Sana believes that using different methods to try and improve – regardless of the results – is a good start.

“First of all, we always wanted to play attacking cricket,” said Sana. “I’ve been looking at which team we’re playing against – we’ve been looking at them [tried to play] attacking cricket. As a bowler, I felt that whoever used to bowl us, used to hit us in the first ball. I wanted our team to have batsmen who can punish the bowler on the first ball. We have worked hard on this and you will see the result soon.”

Before the India game, Sana was among the first to hit the range with the coaching staff, spending a lot of time moving back and forth while hitting the ball. These developments come from a deep desire to be the “number one allrounder.”

“I always wanted to be the first player in the all rounder – because obviously bowling is a team sport, but the team wins if you do well in everything – even if you are good on the field,” he said. “So that’s why I always tried to prove myself in helping the team to win. So, I think it was only a challenge for me.

“That I must go with my beating, Sir.” [Wasim] you played a big role in this. You helped me a lot. Our strong hitting coach has helped a lot of girls. I think all the credit goes to him because he gave us the belief that he can be an all-rounder. So you get credit for this.”