Muneeba Ali's half-century and Sadia Iqbal's three-wicket haul headlined Pakistan's 35-run victory over Thailand in the Group A encounter of the Asia Cup in Dubai. Pakistan posted 119 for 9 before restricting Thailand to 84 for 8 to get their campaign off to a winning start.

Pakistan made a slow start after opting to bat, losing Shawaal Zulfiqar and Gull Feroza to Thipatcha Putthawong inside the first two overs. Ayesha Zafar briefly countered with a couple of boundaries before falling for 9 as Pakistan ended the Powerplay at 32/3. Muneeba Ali then steadied the innings with Sadaf Shamas, both getting regular boundaries to take Pakistan to 60/3 at the halfway stage of the innings.

The fourth wicket pair added 54 before Suleeporn Laomi struck twice in the 13th over, removing Shamas for 20 and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana for a duck. Muneeba brought up a 45-ball fifty but was eventually stumped for 54 in the 17th over, as Laomi finished with excellent figures of 3 for 14. Thailand kept taking wickets, but Pakistan found some momentum late in the innings, with Umm-e-Hani's 17 and Tuba Hassan's 12 taking them close to 120.

Thailand's chase got off to a disastrous start as Sadia Iqbal struck twice in her first over, bowling Phannita Maya for 4 before having Nannapat Koncharoenkai caught for a duck to complete a double-wicket maiden. Nattakan Chantam and Naruemol Chaiwai struggled to score freely, managing only 22 runs in the Powerplay despite hitting a couple of boundaries. Pakistan continued to keep things tight after the field spread, with Nashra Sandhu also bagging the wicket of Chantam, leaving Thailand at 33/3 after 10 overs.

Skipper Chaiwai's laboured innings - 17 off 33 - ended when she fell to Tuba in the 13th over. With the required rate climbing, Aphisara Suwanchonrathi and Chanida Sutthiruang tried to get a partnership going but the former became Tuba's second victim, leaving Thailand at 65/5 in the 17th over. When Naomi Hamilton was dismissed by Ayesha, Thailand needed 50 off 15. They didn't come anywhere close, suffering their second loss in three matches.

Brief scores: Pakistan 119/9 in 20 overs (Muneeba Ali 54 off 52, Sadaf Shamas 20 off 20; Suleeporn Laomi 3-14, Thipatcha Putthawong 3-18) beat Thailand 84/8 in 20 overs (Chanida Sutthiruang 25 off 24, Naruemol Chaiwai 17 off 33; Sadia Iqbal 3-11, Tuba Hassan 2-17) by 35 runs.