Pakistan women play men's team to prepare for Asia Cup

Aiming for the upcoming Women's T20 Asia Cup, the Pakistan women's cricket team has adopted a unique strategy before taking the field. To enhance their performance in the tournament in Dubai, the team led by Fatima Sana played full T20 matches against the men's team of the Abdul Qadir Cricket Academy at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

The initiative was taken not for regular practice or situational sessions, but to improve decision-making under match pressure and challenging conditions. Captain Fatima Sana said the aim of these practice matches was to learn to handle pressure against the higher skill and fitness levels of the male cricketers, which will help the team in the main tournament.

Alongside team preparations, the captain herself is in fine form. Fatima recently impressed in The Hundred, the English franchise tournament, playing for Birmingham Phoenix. She wants to utilise the experience as the first Pakistani woman to play in that tournament to full effect for the team's success in the Asia Cup.

In this edition of the Asia Cup, Pakistan are in Group A alongside India, Thailand and Hong Kong. Pakistan will begin their Asia Cup campaign against Thailand on September 1, followed by a high-voltage clash against arch-rivals India on September 5, and their final group match against Hong Kong on September 7.