Pakistan captain Fatima Sana rewrote the history books when she slammed the fastest-ever fifty in Women T20Is during his blitzkrieg against Zimbabwe in the third and final T20I at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday, May 15. Sana hit a fifty off just 15 balls as she powered Pakistan to a thumping win, which sealed the series 3-0.
Sana was at her best with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 62 off 19 deliveries. Her knock came at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 326.32 and featured 10 fours and two sixes. Sana hit a fifty off 15 balls and broke the previous record jointly held by Sophie Devine, Phoebe Litchfield and Richa Ghosh, all of whom had scored fifties in 18 balls each.
Meanwhile, this is also the joint fastest fifty in Women's T20s, alongside the 15-ball effort of Marie Kelly for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire and of Laura Harris for Otago against Canterbury in the Super Smash.
Sana fastest Pakistan centurion among men and women
This is not only the fastest-ever fifty in WT20Is, but Sana's half ton is also the quickest by any Pakistan player, men or women. The overall record earlier belonged to Shoaib Malik, who hit an 18-ball half-century against Scotland in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
For the Pakistan women's team, Nida Dar held the previous record, having slammed a 20-ball fifty against South Africa in Benoni in 2019.
Sana took Pakistan to huge 223/4
Riding on the back of Sana's unbeaten 62 and Saira Jabeen's unscathed 50 from 30 balls, Pakistan posted their second-highest total in the format - 223/4. Sana was in butcher mode, having hit a four on the first ball she faced in the 17th over of Michelle Mavunga. She went after Kudzai Chigora for four fours in the next one before putting Nomvelo Sibanda to the sword in the 19th.
Sana reserved her best for Sibanda as she tonked her for 24 runs in the penultimate over, hitting three fours and two sixes. The Pakistan captain brought up her fifty in the final over when she hit Adel Zimunu for a couple of runs. The right-handed batter hit two more fours on the final two balls to power Pakistan just 14 runs short of their highest-ever T20I total of 237 that they made in the first match of the series.
Pakistan bowlers wrap things up
While Sana and Saira led the show with the bat, the bowlers backed them up well to seal an emphatic win. Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu were the chief destructors, sharing five wickets among them. Rameen Shamim was way too much mingy, giving away just 11 runs in her four overs for one wicket, which also included a maiden over.
Tuba Hassan also took a wicket as she got Michelle Mavunga, while Fatima also struck with the ball, removing Kudzai Chigora to cap off a historic day for her and the team.
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