An all-round performance by captain Fatima Sana and a late cameo from Tuba Hassan spared two-time Asian Games gold medallists Pakistan an embarrassing quarter-final exit against Thailand at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on Thursday.

In a rain-curtailed 11-over-a-side contest, Thailand, put into bat, posted an impressive 91 for four before reducing Pakistan to 47 for four after six overs.

With Pakistan under pressure, Fatima turned the match around with a 13-ball 21, including three fours and a six. All four boundaries came in a game-changing eighth over that yielded 25 runs and brought Pakistan firmly back into contention.

Tuba then struck a six and a four in the penultimate over during a crucial seven-ball 13 before Pakistan scrambled over the line at 92 for seven with two balls to spare, sealing a three-wicket victory.

The narrow win helped Pakistan avoid another early exit in 2026. They managed only one victory in five matches at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup before losing to Sri Lanka in the semifinals of the ACC Women’s Asia Cup. Pakistan had won the gold in 2010 and 2014 in India’s absence, while they finished fourth in 2022.

It was Pakistan’s third victory over Thailand in five meetings. Their only defeat came at the ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2022 in Sylhet, where Thailand won by four wickets.

Pakistan will face the winner of Friday’s Sri Lanka-Malaysia quarter-final in the semifinal on 20 September.

In Thursday’s other quarter-final, Bangladesh progressed as the higher-seeded side after their match against China was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Bangladesh will face the winner of Friday’s India-Japan quarter-final.

The gold and bronze medal matches will be played on 22 September.

The men’s competition will begin on 22 September, with Pakistan featuring in the first quarter-final on 27 September. The semifinals will be played on 20 September, followed by the gold-medal match on 2 October.

Scores in brief

Quarter-final — Pakistan beat Thailand by three wickets (11-over-a-side match)

Thailand 91-4, 11 overs (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 49; Fatima Sana 2-22)

Pakistan 92-7, 10.4 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 25, Fatima Sana 21, Tuba Hassan 13; Onnicha Kamchophu 3-37, Sunida Chaturongrattana 2-23)