Muneeba Ali seizes rarest of days as first Pakistan woman to score T20I century

Muneeba Ali knows that cricketers don't get days like the one she had against Ireland very often. Only one of them will become the first woman from their country to score a T20I hundred. When more centurions come, they will join an elite club.It's only once every couple of years that a cricketer can say they've scored a century at a World Cup. Before today, across seven editions of the Women's T20 World Cup, there were five centurions: Deandra Dottin, Meg Lanning, Harmanpreet Kaur, Heather Knight and Lizelle Lee.Muneeba is the first woman from Pakistan to score a T20I hundred and the sixth to achieve the feat at a World Cup, and she did it all without even a T20I fifty to her name. Her previous best in the format was 43."I enjoyed that," she said afterwards. "We don't get these chances in international cricket regularly so I cherish this moment."And so she should.In what became a stirring riposte to being beaten 2-1 at home to this same Ireland team, Pakistan piled on the second-highest score of the tournament so far and then dismissed Ireland for under 100. The victory was set up by Muneeba, who started gently when she flicked the second ball she faced fine for Pakistan's first four and steered the fourth past deep third and then brought out a power game that left Ireland out of answers.She pulled Leah Paul behind square, swatted Arlene Kelly down the ground and swept Cara Murray through short fine leg. But she had to survive being dropped on 47, when she heaved Paul to long-on, where Louise Little charged in and then had to pull out of the catch to avoid clashing into mid-on, to bring out her favourite shot: the drive through extra cover. There were four of them, including the hit that saw her reach her century, and it was the result of a mis-field, one of several from an Ireland outfit that had a tough day out but could still admire Muneeba's effort. "It was difficult to be on the other end but as a spectacle it was outstanding," Arlene Kelly said.Kelly blamed a bowling performance that saw Ireland spray the b