Sadia Iqbal gave Pakistan reason to believe.
After they struggled to a score of 105 for 8 in the highest-profile game they will play at this T20 World Cup, against India, she removed Smriti Mandhana in the fifth over of the chase and created an opening for her team. Importantly, she also built on a plan to starve Mandhana of runs by keeping it full and on the stumps, which created a string of nine dot balls to India's experienced opener, before offering her some width and inviting her to drive. Mandhana only managed to send the ball to Tuba Hassan at point and Pakistan had the advantage.
"I know my spells are very crucial for the team," Iqbal told ESPNcricinfo in Dubai. "That's why I am very focused on my bowling and getting my role right."
Over the last two years, Iqbal's job has been to take the new ball and it's one she has embraced. The 29-year-old left-arm spinner has opened the bowling in all the T20Is she has played and reaped some outstanding results. With 28 wickets in 17 matches in 2024, Iqbal is the leading wicket-taker among bowlers at the World Cup this year and also has the most wickets by a Pakistan player in any calendar year. For a short period of time between the match against India on Sunday and England's win over South Africa on Monday night, she topped the ICC bowling rankings and became only the second Pakistan player to achieve such a status.
The other, Sana Mir, who was the No. 1 ODI bowler in 2018-19, is currently at the tournament as a commentator and has been spending time with Iqbal and offering advice. "I've learnt so much from her," Iqbal said. "Before the match, I talked to her about the conditions and what to expect and she told me everything."
Pakistan have played at both tournament venues already and adjusted fairly well to the differences with the ball.
In Sharjah, they restricted Sri Lanka to 85 for 9 in pursuit of a target of 117 - Iqbal took 3 for 17. On a surface, which was devoid of pace, she did not follow the lead of the Bangladesh bowlers, from earlier that day, sending down deliveries as slowly as 50kph, but stuck to what she knew. "I don't usually bowl slow, I stick to my pace," she said. "But I follow the idea of situational bowling and try to see what the batters are doing and react to that."
What Iqbal did in Sharjah was to ask the Sri Lanka middle and lower order to go after her, knowing she would be difficult to get away. She had Anushka Sanjeewani caught at deep midwicket trying to flick a full ball to the boundary; Nilakshika Silva caught at short fine-leg playing the sweep; and trapped Sugandika Kumari lbw attempting the same type of shot.
In Dubai, where run-scoring is slightly easier, she started off with a clear plan to keep it tight, before offering some width and changing her lengths later on, as India's urgency for runs grew.
That willingness to encourage the batters to take her on and back herself to succeed comes from an overall team approach that has changed since the last T20 World Cup, Iqbal explained. "The big change is mindset, because every player is playing attacking cricket. It's the approach, it's our mindset, working with different coaches, and learning through more experiences."
Pakistan's more proactive approach suits Iqbal's style as someone who has always relished a contest. A multi-sport player, who was involved in handball and hockey, Iqbal came to cricket "late", as a 22-year-old. At the time, she had just graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honours in sports science. She made her debut for Pakistan two years later and has properly established herself in the side only over the last couple of years. On the evidence of her success in that time, Iqbal is on an upward trajectory and may well continue to give Pakistan more reasons to believe in the future.