JOHOR (A-News) – The Pakistani side, captained by Komal Khan, will face the United States of America (USA) in the first of three Group B matches at the Johor Cricket Academy Oval in Johor, Malaysia, on Saturday, January 18.
Pakistan will play England on January 20 and Ireland on January 22 at the same location. At the conclusion of the group stage, three teams from each of the four groups A, B, C, and D will advance to the Super Six round. The bottom-ranked teams from Groups A and D, as well as B and C, will compete in a last-place playoff on January 24.
Teams who advance to the Super Six stage will play two matches apiece and will carry over their victories, points, and Net Run Rate (NRR) against their fellow Super Six qualifying teams.
The top two teams from each of the Super Six groups will proceed to the 31 January semi-finals, with the final taking place on 2 February.
Pakistan prepared for the huge event by playing Nigeria and Australia on January 13 and 15, respectively, at Bayuemas Oval. Komal’s team defeated Nigeria by 11 runs at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval before losing to Australia 54 runs (DLS method) at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier, the Pakistani squad arrived in Malaysia on Saturday, January 11, after completing a nine-day hard training session at Karachi’s Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre.
The players trained and played scenario matches during the camp under the supervision of head coach and former Test cricketer Mohsin Kamal, as well as his coaching staff, who included Muhammad Hanif Malik and former Pakistan Women’s international Nahida Khan.
Komal Khan, Pakistan’s Women’s U19 captain, said, “Our group has been together for a while now, which has increased our desire and drive to make a name for ourselves on the big stage, and we have also worked very hard on our game in the previous few weeks.
“I believe the ultimate goal will be to bring our best to the middle when we meet the United States, England, and Ireland in our group matches, and then hope to turn the outcome in our favor.
“We have got the variety and talent in our bowling and batting departments and with the training and warm-ups done, the prospect of three highly competitive matches in the next five days makes us all excited to perform.”