Pakistan Vs England, ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Rain Denies Fatima Sana-Led PAK-W Win Over ENG-W

Pakistan’s hopes of scripting a historic maiden win over England were washed away by relentless rain in Colombo, as their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 group match at the R. Premadasa Stadium was abandoned on Wednesday. Fatima Sana led from the front with a devastating spell of 4 for 27, exploiting seam movement and uneven bounce to rattle the four-time champions. England limped to 133 for 9 in a rain-curtailed 31-over-a-side contest after being reduced to 79 for 7 when the first downpour halted play. Charlotte Dean’s gritty 33 and Emily Arlott’s 18 helped salvage some respectability for England with a 54-run stand in the final overs.

Pakistan made a steady start in their chase of a revised 113 under the DLS method. Openers Muneeba Ali (9) and Omaima Sohail (19) took the side to 34 without loss in 6.4 overs, showing discipline and intent before the heavens opened again. Despite several ground inspections, persistent rain forced the umpires to call off the match, leaving Pakistan frustrated. The washout handed both sides one point each, Pakistan’s first in the tournament after three straight losses, effectively ending their faint semifinal hopes. They remain rooted to the bottom of the standings, while England moved to the top with seven points, edging Australia on net run rate.

A dejected Fatima admitted the result was "hard to take" given Pakistan’s control over the contest, while Nat Sciver-Brunt conceded her side failed to cope with the swinging conditions. Sana’s fiery spell had earlier dismantled England’s core, including Amy Jones, Sciver-Brunt, and Heather Knight, while Sadia Iqbal and Rameen Shamim chipped in with key strikes to keep pressure on. With three of the tournament’s fixtures now washed out, following the Sri Lanka vs Australia and Sri Lanka vs New Zealand games, unpredictable weather continues to shape the Women’s World Cup narrative in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan Vs England, ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025: Toss Update

Pakistan have won the toss and asked England to bat first in Colombo.

Pakistan Vs England, ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025: Playing XIs

Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana(c), Sidra Nawaz(w), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu

England XI: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones(w), Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt(c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlotte Dean, Sarah Glenn, Linsey Smith, Em Arlott

England Women face Pakistan Women in match number 16 of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 in India. This is an important fixture for both the teams, who have had very different journeys in the tournament so far.

The Pakistani team, led by Fatima Sana, are yet to register a victory in the quadrennial event, which is nearing towards the business end. They first lost to Bangladesh (by 7-wickets) before enduring two heavy 88-run and 107-run defeats to the hands of India and Australia. As a result, Pakistan sit at the bottom of the table.

England, meanwhile, have been able to maintain their 100% win record in their first three matches and they will be aiming to win 4 out of 4 later today. The Lioness have beaten South by 10-wickets, Bangladesh by 4-wickets and Sri-Lanka in their previous encounter by 89-runs.