UAE and Hong Kong remain on top; Thailand start with big win

New Delhi [India], September 1 : UAE, Nepal and Hong Kong made it two wins out of two in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier.
Day two of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier saw Hong Kong register their second win in two days after chasing down a target of 74 with more than three overs to spare against China in Group B.
The other Group B fixture of the day saw Thailand begin their tournament by crushing Myanmar by 100 runs to put the rest of the teams on notice.
In Group A, Nepal crushed Bahrain by 10 wickets, Bhutan cantered to an eight-wicket win over Qatar and the UAE chased down 65 against Malaysia.
Hong Kong vs China
Mariko Hill’s two-wicket spell and a composed knock of 22 at the top of the order earned her the Player-of-the-match award and helped Hong Kong maintain their top spot in Group B.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Hong Kong struggled for early wickets. Chinese opener Caiyun Zhou dispatched Iqra Sahar through the leg side to push the score to 9 after three overs. Sahar would hit back in her next over, bowling Yue Chen with an inswinger.
Mingyue Zhu began her innings with a pull shot for four before getting caught by Sahar to give Betty Chan her first wicket. Zhou was next to go, getting bowled for 19 by Kary Chan to leave China 48 for three in the 14th over. Hill built on this pressure, taking figures of two for 11 in the middle overs to help limit China to 73.
Hong Kong was rarely in any real danger during a manageable chase. By the time Xiuli Jin trapped Natasha Miles in front for 26 in the ninth over, Hong Kong’s score had ballooned to 38.
Mengting Liu dismissed Hill and Yasmin Daswani in the space of three balls, the latter caught and bowled. Qian Xu chipped in with figures of two for nine. Yet, this was not enough to stop Hong Kong from cruising home in the 17th over.
Brief Scores: Hong Kong 74/5 in 16.5 Overs (Miles 26, Hill 22, Qian Xu 2-9) beat China 73/7 in 20 Overs (Zhou 19, Hill 2-11, Kary Chan 2-16) by 5 Wickets
Thailand vs Myanmar
Natthakan Chantham’s unbeaten 54, her ninth half-century in the format, guided Thailand to a commanding total of 121 for four before Thailand’s bowlers restricted Myanmar to 21 for nine to deliver a 100-run win.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Myanmar was buoyed by an early wicket. Suwanan Khiaoto was run out for 5 in the second over after a throw from Zar Li Win caught her short of her crease. They built on this pressure by not conceding another boundary during a powerplay in which they only gave away 23 runs.
However, the wheels came off in the seventh over bowled by Pan Ei Phyu which included two boundaries struck by Chantham and five penalty runs. Chantham would bat through the innings, setting Myanmar a daunting target of 122.
In reply, Myanmar did not manage to hit a single boundary in their innings. Zin Tharaphy Kyaw provided some resistance, scoring an unbeaten 9 off 41 balls. Kyaw’s doggedness helped Myanmar finish on 21 for nine and bat out their overs.
Brief Scores: Thailand 121/4 in 20 Overs (Chantham 54*, Chanida Sutthiruang 19, Lin Lin Tun 1-18) beat Myanmar 21/9 in 20 Overs (Kyaw 9*, Nattaya Boochatham 5-5) by 100 Runs
Nepal v Bahrain
Indu Barma’s figures of three for five helped bowl Bahrain out for 31 after they had won the toss and elected to bat.
Rasika Rodrigo was the first wicket to fall, getting trapped in front by Puja Mahato for a golden duck. Tharanga Gajanayake was next to go, getting bowled by Kabita Kunwar for 4. Deepika Rasangika was the only Bahrain batter to cross double figures, scoring 11 off 20 balls, which included a cut for four off Kabita Joshi.
Joshi, however, would make an impact on the game, running out Ishara Suhun to restrict the opposition to 23 for five in the tenth over. Barma and Khushi Dangol scythed through the tail, combining to pick up five wickets.
Nepal’s benefitted from 13 extras in their chase. Kabita Kunwar added insult to injury, scoring three fours in her unbeaten 17 to seal the chase with a ball to spare in the third over.
Brief Scores: Nepal 32/0 in 2.5 Overs (Kunwar 17*, Sita Rana Magar 2*) beat Bahrain 31/10 in 15.4 Overs (Rasangika 11, Barma 3-5, Dangol 2-0) by 10 Wickets
Bhutan vs Qatar
Dechen Wangmo took 4-8 to restrict Qatar to 64 before scoring an unbeaten 29 to seal a comfortable chase with more than two overs to spare.
Electing to bowl first, Bhutan had to wait patiently for their first wicket. A pair of neat catches from Sonam Choden led to the demise of Saachi Dhadwal and Khadija Imitiaz for 6 and 9, respectively.
Wangmo built on this pair of wickets, bowling Sabeeja Panayan before taking a return catch to dismiss Rizpha Emmanuel. Aleena Khan dragged her feet out of her crease to become Wangmo’s fourth victim as Qatar was reduced to 55 for seven in the 17th over. Bhutan’s bowlers continued to be frugal, eventually restricting their opposition to 64.
Qatar did their best to defend a below-par total. Skipper Aysha ran out Karma Dema in the third over, bringing Wangmo to the crease.
The Bhutanese skipper combined with left-hander Ngawang Choden to put on a 52-run partnership that steered Bhutan to safety. Wangmo would score the only boundary of the innings, working Panayan into the leg side for four.
Fittingly, it was Wangmo who hit the winning single to guide her team home.
Brief Scores: Bhutan 65/2 in 17.4 Overs (Wangmo 29, Ngawang Choden 19, Dhadwal 1-10) beat Qatar 64/9 in 20 Overs (Aysha 9, Panayan 9, Wangmo 4-8, Anju Gurung 2-10) by 8 Wickets
Malaysia vs UAE
A new ball burst from skipper Chaya Mughal and a composed 19 from eventual Player-of-the-match Kavisha Egodage powered UAE to their second win in as many games.
After Malaysia opted to bat, Mughal struck first blood with the wicket of opposite number Winifred Duraisingam, who was caught be Egodage. After striking two boundaries early in her innings, Ainna Hamizah was bowled by Mughal.
A rain delay caused the match to be reduced to a 16-over contest, where Malaysia to their dismay, could only manage to set UAE a target of 65.
UAE started steadily, accumulating 32 in their first eight overs. Esha Oza assumed the mantle of an aggressor, scoring 19 before being run out by a direct hit by Aina Najwa.
In spite of this, UAE were well ahead in the contest. Khushi Sharma sealed the chase with a pair of boundaries to end unbeaten on 10.
Brief Scores: UAE 67/3 in 12.5 Overs (Oza 19, Egodage 19, Arianna Natasya 1-12) beat Malaysia 64/6 in 16 Overs (Aina Najwa 17*, Mughal 2-10) by 7 Wickets (DLS Method).