Pakistan captain Fatima Sana in tears during national anthem; returned to World Cup 4 days after father's death

Pakistan captain Fatima Sana returned home after her father's death but came back for the match against New Zealand. She was in tears during the national anthem

Pakistan's Women's T20 World Cup campaign may have ended with a crushing defeat to New Zealand, but their captain, Fatima Sana, has won hearts for turning up for the match while recovering from a personal bereavement. Sana left the team last week after news emerged of her father passing away in Karachi. She missed the match against Australia, which Pakistan lost by nine wickets.

Fatima Sana had returned home last week after the death of her father (Getty Images)

The bowling all-rounder was then available for selection for the match against New Zealand on Tuesday, which Pakistan needed to win to stay in contention for the semi-finals. Sana could be seen tearing up while the Pakistan national anthem was being played ahead of the match.

Sana earned a lot of plaudits online for her bravery and commitment:

Pakistan, India knocked out

It wasn't a good day on the field for Sana and Pakistan, though. With India earlier losing to Australia, Pakistan stood a chance at qualifying for the semi-final if they beat New Zealand by a big margin. Them beating New Zealand would've also allowed India to qualify. Pakistan managed to restrict New Zealand to a score of 110/6 in 20 overs.

However, the Pakistan batters then succumbed to the pressure of needing to win the match in 12 overs in order to qualify for the semi-finals. They failed to do the big-hitting that was required and ended up being all out for just 56 runs in 11.4 overs.

Pakistan's batting never really looked capable of putting up the kind of acceleration required to pull off the chase in the required parameters. They were tottering at 28/5 at the end of the powerplay. Sana was their highest scorer with 21 runs in 23 balls and a 24-run partnership with Nida Dar for the sixth wicket was the only meaningful stand they managed to produce. Pakistan lost their last five wickets for just four runs in 11.4 overs, the exact over mark by when they had to complete the chase to qualify.