AUS Women vs PAK Women, 15th Match at Leicester, Jul 05 2017 - Ball by Ball Commentary

5.23pm So after hundred overs of cricket, a winner was eventually declared. But at the halfway stage, after Australia powered their way to 290 in their fifty, we knew Pakistan would have to do something magical to overhaul that target.

That didn't happen with their batting as they lost regular wickets through their innings and neither did they look to even chase the 291 target. Pakistan batted out fifty overs and eventually succumbed to a 159-run loss. The tournament now goes mathematical for them. But that being said, they first need to win all of their remaining games to stay in contention.

Australia will be delighted they eventually manged to bowl Pakistan out. But they'd be happier to see their batsmen doing well despite captain Meg Lanning's absence. It was a day of many individual performances, first from Villani, then from Perry, and then from Healy. But for what it's worth, Sana Mir's fighting 45 and three wickets will remain with me the longest. Australia move to the top of the table.

Thanks for staying with us through the day. Hope you enjoyed today's coverage. From Sreshth and Shashank, it's goodbye.

5.15 pm Pakistan captain Sana Mir: "Crucial catches were dropped when we were at the top. We missed some crucial catches, especially of players like Villani, they punished us. We were on the mark with the ball for atleast 25-30, but we need to bowl better at the death. Our batsmen need to step up, we can't rely on one batsman. This is why we are here. We need to build on our bowling and batting, our batters have the potential, it's just important they start clicking at the right time. I'm pretty happy with our bowling but our fielding needs to improve."

Australia captain Rachael Haynes: "I got a good partnership going but fell away but was good to see Villani and Perry play the way they did. Villani just came out and was so positive and once she gets going, very few grounds can contain her. She set the tone for the game. Looking forward to the next game against England."

5.10 pm Elyse Villani is the Player of the Match. She says: "Cricket is a funny game (she was out for a duck last game), the girls showed they were rearing to go. Good to see Alyssa Healy get that innings towards the end and Pez (Perry) play some good shots. My job was to hit the ball and that's what I had to keep doing. It's just the way I should be playing. The bowlers did a great job so it was nice to sneak a couple in.

Jindal: "So Australia again move to the top with huge Net run rate advantage in this match !"

It's the last over now. Pakistan require 160 off six balls. Mathematically, still very much possible. Highly unlikely though.

ArH: "Matches should be stopped when the required run rate goes over 36. There is no point playing after that and might as well encourage teams not to be overly defensive. " - Hmm, interesting. But that cannot be employed in tournament-style matches. Net Run Rate remember? Maybe Pakistan actually have a strategy?

Zoraiz: "How many more defeats before Pakistan are officially out of the tournament?" - that's a lot of math Zoraiz. But lets just say it doesn't look good. Maybe another one.

Maryam: "I believe Sana Mir should promote herself up the order a bit. Instead of having to play with the tail to save dignity, she should be playing up top to actually save the game." - next game, maybe? Pakistan are quickly running out of lives in this tournament.