Women's World Cup 2022: Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof brings out cradle celebration for daughter after completing fifty

Match 6 of the Women’s World Cup 2022 saw Australia thrashing Pakistan by seven wickets at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. It was indeed a humiliating defeat for the Women in Green as they were outplayed in all three departments. As a result, the Aussies chased down 191 with over 15 overs to spare. Pakistan have now lost their first two games in the competition and they have a lot of issues to address.

However, the Pakistan team also has some positives to draw out from the game. One of them is skipper Bismah Maroof’s sensational knock. Coming to bat at number three, the left-handed batter valiantly tackled Aussie bowlers and paced her knock to perfection. While the 30-year-old kept losing partners at regular intervals, she didn’t put her guards down and slammed a remarkable half-century.

Maroof also brought out a special ‘cradle’ celebration after getting the landmark, dedicating the feat to her daughter Fatima. After raising the bat towards the spectators, the southpaw put the willow down and waved her hands while looking her little munchkin in stands. The clip of the same went viral in no time as netizens were left heartwhelmed.

Captain Bismah Maroof dedicates her fifty to her daughter. #CricketTwitter #CWC22 #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/aHnJoPEGrc

— Krithika (@krithika0808) March 8, 2022

Bismah Maroof remained unbeaten on 78

Meanwhile, Maroof didn’t lose focus after crossing the 50-run mark and even looked determine to get a hundred. However, fall of regular wickets for the other end meant Maroof had to play cautiously throughout the innings. With the help of eight boundaries, the veteran batter remained unbeaten on 78 off 122 balls as Pakistan posted 190/6 in their allotted 50 overs. Besides Maroof, Aliya Riaz scored 53 off 109 deliveries.

The target didn’t trouble the Aussies by any means as they crossed the line in just 34.4 overs. Opener and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy was the wrecker-in-chief for Australia, scoring 72 off just 79 deliveries. While Maroof  did play an imprssive, she wasn’t happy with the overall result.

“We gave too many wickets away early on. We got a decent total, but we couldn’t stop them. We could have been better in the field, we dropped too many catches. In the meeting we had discussed that someone from the top order had to bat deep. It was a special performance with my daughter around, I had to make it count. We need to put up a good total, so that the bowlers get a chance to defend,” said the Pakistan skipper after the game.