Stars captain Sidra Amin and Invincibles’ Muneeba Ali at the toss for their NWT20 match at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Maty 17, 2025. — PCB

KARACHI: Skipper Sidra Amin’s blazing half-century powered Stars to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Invincibles in the 15th match of the National Women’s T20 (NWT20) Tournament here at the National Bank Stadium on Saturday.

Stars captain Sidra’s decision to bowl first paid dividends as their Aleesha Mukhtiar-led bowling attack curtailed the Invincibles to a modest 140/6 in 20 overs despite a solid start.

Invincibles’ opening pair of skipper Muneeba Ali and Ayesha Zafar laid a solid foundation for a defendable total as they racked up 115 runs in just 13.5 overs.

The marathon stand culminated when Muneeba fell victim to Waheeda Akhtar after scoring 52 off 37 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries.

Ayesha followed suit in the next over and walked back after top-scoring with a 50-ball 61, comprising 10 boundaries including a six.

Their back-to-back dismissals sparked a middle-order collapse, which saw the Invincibles losing four wickets for just 23 runs and were thus restricted to a modest total.

Mukhtiar was the standout bowler for the Invincibles, taking three wickets for just 23 runs in her four overs, followed by Waheeda, who bagged two. Anosha Nasir, on the other hand, chipped in with one scalp.

Chasing a modest 141-run target, the Stars comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just three wickets and eight balls to spare.

Leading the way for them was their skipper Sidra, who top-scored with an unbeaten 70 off 50 deliveries, studded with 10 boundaries.

For her match-winning knock, Sidra was adjudged the Player of the Match.

Besides her, opening batter Sana Urooj (21) and wicketkeeper batter Sidra Nawaz (24 not out) made notable contributions.

For Invincibles, Saima Malik remained the sole wicket-taker with three scalps.

The seven-wicket victory helped Stars to consolidate their second position in the NWT20 standings with eight points in seven matches and are only behind leaders Conquerors due to an inferior Net Run Rate.