Who is Urooj Mumtaz Khan?

Adil Najam

Do you even know who Urooj Mumtaz Khan is? I did not. I am glad I now do.

It turns out she is a part of the Pakistan’s women cricket team, and her century helped Pakistan beat Hong Kong by a whopping 172 runs in a one day game. This, in turn, means Pakistan women’s team will now play in the World Cup qualifying tournament to be held in Ireland in 2007. All of this, good news.

Here are some details from CricInfo:

Powered by an unbeaten 100 from Urooj Mumtaz, Pakistan trounced Hong Kong by 172 runs in the second ODI to win the three-match series. The series victory takes Pakistan through to the Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Ireland in 2007. Winning the toss for the second time Mumtaz had no hesitation in batting in bright sunny conditions on a decent batting surface. Hong Kong, needing to win the match to square the series, started promisingly with the ball. But, apart from Betty Chan who bowled her ten overs for just 41 runs, as with the first match, no other bowler really managed to maintain sufficient control. They were profligate, conceding 72 extras including 68 wides… In reply Hong Kong could only muster one decent partnership – Neisha Pratt (52) added 63 runs with Natasha Miles (32) – and were shot out for 116. Mumtaz was named player of the match… The final match of the series will be at the Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore on September 21. A crowd of up to 10,000 spectators is anticipated.

While we have been following the Pakistan Men’s team, Darrel Hair, and Inzimam and also about the elegance that was Wasim Raja, the news about women’s cricket seems to have slipped by. It deserves to be celebrated. The Pakistan women’s team is relatively new to the international circuit and is currently ranked at No. 10. But it seems to have come active recently. One wishes them well for the next match in Lahore, and then onwards to Ireland.