When the final ball was bowled in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 final in Navi Mumbai on November 2, 2025, the Pakistan Women's Cricket Team walked away with no wins, no trophies, and no momentum — just three points scraped from rain-affected matches that never delivered a result. They finished last in the eight-team tournament, a grim milestone that underscores a deeper struggle within the team’s development. The final match against Sri Lanka Women at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was abandoned after just 4.2 overs, sealing Pakistan’s winless record. No one batted. No one bowled. Just wet turf, frustrated players, and a tournament that slipped through their fingers like water.
A Campaign Defined by Weather, Not Will
Pakistan’s campaign was less about poor performance and more about cruel timing. They were on the brink of upsets twice — and the skies took both chances away. Against England on October 19, they were 34/0 in 6.4 overs chasing a revised target of 113. Fatima Sana, playing her 100th international match, was looking composed. The chase was within reach. Then came the rain. The match was called off. No result. Three points. That’s all.Then came Australia. On October 15, Pakistan’s bowlers stunned the defending champions, reducing them to 76/7. The world watched. The crowd roared. Then Beth Mooney walked in. She didn’t just rescue Australia — she buried Pakistan’s hopes with a century. And still, the match went ahead. No rain. Just a brutal reality: Pakistan’s batting couldn’t match the resilience of their bowling. They lost by 78 runs. The rain had spared them that day — but the gap in class didn’t.
The Crushing Defeat to South Africa
The most telling moment came on October 27, 2025, at the same R Premadasa Stadium. South Africa, led by Marizanne Kapp’s all-round masterclass — 68 not out and 3/20 in 5 overs — posted 312/9 in 40 overs after initial rain cut the innings. Pakistan’s chase? A disaster. Three more rain interruptions during their reply turned a 234-run target into a psychological trap. They collapsed to 83/7 in 20 overs. Sidra Nawaz top-scored with 22 not out. Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal took three wickets each, but the damage was done. The scoreboard didn’t lie: 150-run loss. The tournament was over for Pakistan. They were eliminated. No one was surprised.Close Calls and Missed Opportunities
Their narrowest defeat — a 2-run loss to Bangladesh on October 2 — was the most heartbreaking. Pakistan posted 129 in 38.3 overs. Rameen Shamim scored 23. Shorna Akter took 3/5. Bangladesh’s Rubya Haider smashed 54 not out. One wicket, one boundary, one over — and the game was lost. That’s the margin between winning and losing in women’s cricket now. Pakistan came closer than anyone realized. But without a single win, those near-misses feel like salt in the wound.Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, who finished fifth with just one win, echoed Pakistan’s frustration. Captain Chamari Athapaththu told reporters: “As a team, expectations were high for this World Cup but we lost our first game against India and another game against England when we made a lot of mistakes in the field.” The rain didn’t just wash out matches — it washed out confidence. And in Colombo, where showers were constant, it felt like the universe was conspiring against every team from the subcontinent.
The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters
Pakistan’s winless campaign isn’t just a statistical footnote. It’s a symptom. The team has struggled for consistency since their last World Cup appearance in 2022. Their domestic structure lacks depth. Coaching resources are thin. Player development is reactive, not strategic. Contrast that with India, who won their first-ever Women’s World Cup title on November 2, 2025, with Shafali Verma’s explosive 87 and Deepti Sharma’s 5/39 in the final. Or South Africa, whose depth and composure under pressure made them finalists. Pakistan didn’t just lose games — they lost ground in the global hierarchy.And yet, there’s hope. Fatima Sana’s 100th cap is a milestone. She’s the face of this team. She’s the one who led through rain, loss, and silence. The younger players — Omaima Sohail, Muneeba Ali — showed glimpses of grit in the final washed-out match. They didn’t panic. They didn’t quit. That’s something.
What’s Next for Pakistan Women’s Cricket?
The Pakistan Cricket Board must act now. No more excuses. No more blaming weather. The next World Cup is in 2029. They need a full-time head coach, a centralized academy for emerging talent, and a domestic T20 league that actually matters. They need funding. They need visibility. They need to stop treating women’s cricket as an afterthought.For now, the team returns home to silence. No parades. No headlines. Just the echo of what might have been. But in sport, as in life, the most important thing isn’t how you start — it’s how you respond after you fall. Pakistan’s women didn’t win a match in this World Cup. But they didn’t give up either. That’s a start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Pakistan finish with only three points despite losing four matches?
Pakistan earned three points from three rain-affected matches that ended as no-results under ICC tournament rules. Each no-result awards one point to both teams. Since they lost four matches outright, they received zero points from those, leaving them with just three points total — the lowest in the tournament. Their net run rate of -2.651 reflects their inability to post competitive totals under pressure.
How did weather impact Pakistan’s chances of advancing?
Pakistan was in strong positions in two matches that were abandoned: 34/0 chasing England’s revised target of 113, and 76/7 against Australia before Beth Mooney’s century. Both matches were critical for points and net run rate. Had either been completed, Pakistan could have finished seventh instead of eighth — and possibly forced a playoff scenario. Rain didn’t just delay games — it erased their best chances to break their winless streak.
Who are the key players to watch in Pakistan’s future?
Fatima Sana, playing her 100th match, remains the emotional anchor. Omaima Sohail and Muneeba Ali showed composure under pressure in the final washed-out match against Sri Lanka. Spinner Nashra Sandhu, who took 3/45 against South Africa, is the team’s most consistent bowler. If these players are backed with structured training and more international exposure, they could form the core of a competitive side by 2029.
How does Pakistan’s performance compare to past World Cups?
In 2022, Pakistan finished seventh with one win (against Sri Lanka). In 2017, they reached the semi-finals — their best-ever performance. Since then, progress has stalled. The 2025 campaign marks their worst-ever World Cup finish: winless, last place, and lowest net run rate in tournament history. This decline coincides with reduced investment in women’s cricket infrastructure compared to regional rivals like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
What did the ICC say about Pakistan’s campaign?
The ICC acknowledged the challenges posed by weather but emphasized the need for teams to adapt. In their post-tournament review, they noted that Pakistan’s “inability to convert pressure situations into results” was a recurring theme. No formal criticism was issued, but internal reports flagged the team’s batting fragility and lack of match-winning finishers as areas needing urgent attention ahead of the next cycle.
Did any Pakistani player earn individual recognition?
While no Pakistani player made the official ICC Team of the Tournament, Fatima Sana’s 100th international cap was widely noted in media reports. Nashra Sandhu’s 3/45 against South Africa was the best bowling figures by a Pakistani in the tournament. These performances, though overshadowed by results, are the foundation for future growth — if properly nurtured.
