ACC Women’s T20 Championship Day 4
UAE and Nepal notched up convincing wins in the morning against Malaysia and Bahrain, respectively before Singapore edged Oman out in a final-over thriller on Day 4 of the ACC Women’s T20 Championship 2022 in Malaysia.
UAE v Malaysia, UKM-YSD Oval
A persistent early morning downpour encouraged Winifred Duraisingam to bowl first upon winning the toss. UAE openers Theertha Satish and Esha Oza were watchful at the start, reaching a total of 19 after 4 overs.
However, the introduction of Ainna Hamizah in the fifth over signalled a shift in intent from Satish, who hit her for a pair of boundaries in a 14-run over.
Esha Oza wasn’t quite at her fluent best, and just as she was building momentum in her innings, she was dismissed by Mas Elysa for 26 off 31 balls.
Kavisha Kumari Egodage then walked to the crease with the score on 72/1 in the 13th over. She wasted no time in settling into her innings, striking four boundaries and a six in an unbeaten innings of 45 (33). Theertha Satish played second fiddle, notching up 52* (56) with 5 boundaries as UAE finished on 134/1 at the end of their 20 overs.
In reply, Duraisingam (7) was run out in the third over with the score on 9 before Wan Julia was dismissed in the fifth over, caught by Samaira Dharnidharka off the bowling of Khushi Sharma.
Walking in at 19/2 in the fifth over, Elsa Hunter combined with number three batter Mas Elysa to stitch together 54-run partnership.
In spite of this recovery, dot ball pressure from Indhuja Nandakumar brought the equation to 62 needed off the last seven overs for Malaysia. Elsa Hunter felt this pressure attempting an improbable run, only to be run out by keeper Theertha Satish. Nandakumar would go onto dismiss both Ainna Hamizah and Arianna Natsya in the same over to restrict Malaysia to 73/5 with one delivery left in the 15th over. Mas Elysa held strong for Malaysia, not letting the required rate cross 11 runs per over until she was trapped in front by Nandakumar
This would prove to be the final nail in Malaysia’s coffin. Duraisingam and her troops were restricted to 103/8 in 20 overs as Nandakumar finished with figures of 4 for 10 in her four-over quota to be crowned player-of-the-match.
Brief Scores:
UAE (134/1) defeated Malaysia (103/8) by 31 runs
Bahrain V Nepal, Kinrara Oval
Seamers Kabita Kunwar, Ashmina Karmacharya, and Sabnam Rai orchestrated a big win for Nepal who restricted Bahrain to 14 for 7 in a rain-reduced seven-over-a-side fixture at the Kinrara Oval.
Kunwar kicked things off by picking up the massive wicket of left-handed Bahraini skipper Deepika Rasangika, who was bowled by a sharp inswinger from over the wicket. Pavithra Shetty was trapped in front off the very next ball before Karmacharya disturbed the timber of Abeera Waris to leave Bahrain reeling at 6 for 3 in the fourth over.
Bahrain’s innings never recovered from these early losses as they limped to 14 for 7 at the end of their seven-over quota.
Chasing 15 for victory, Nepal knocked off the runs with two deliveries left in the 4th over to register their third win in three games. Kabita Kunwar was adjudged player-of-the-match for a spell of 2 for 2 in her two overs.
Brief Scores:
Nepal (15/2 in 3.4 overs) defeated Bahrain (14/7 in 7 overs) by 8 wickets and 20 balls to spare.
Singapore v Oman, Kinrara Oval
Singapore chased a target of 110 set by Oman with one ball to spare in a final-over thriller at the Kinrara Oval.
Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Singapore skipper Shafina Mahesh inserted the Vaishali Jesrani-led Omani unit in to bat. Mahesh led from the front, dismissing Fiza Javed off an outswinger, which she edged through to keeper Piumi Gurusinghe to leave Oman 4 for 1 in the 3rd over.
Mahesh would once again be in the thick of things when Nayan Anil smacked a delivery from the Singapore captain straight into the hands of cover to leave Oman reeling at 25 for 4 in 7th overs.
This put Vinu Kumar in to bat at number six to partner star batter Diviya GK. After a brief period of consolidation, Kumar punished anything that was too full from Oman’s bowlers as Diviya looked to keep the scoreboard ticking. At 45 for 4 after 9 overs, the game looked to be in the balance until Kumar struck two boundaries off Afida Afthab in the tenth over to reduce the equation to 52 needed off 60.
Runs would continue to flow as Singapore reached a point where they only needed 5 off the final 12 deliveries. Saya Channa, however, would provide another twist in the tail, cleaning up Kumar with a sharp inswinger in the 19th over.
Ada Bhasin then strode to the crease at number seven and struggled to get going at first. However, with 1 required off 2 she steered Bhakti Shetty to backward point for a quick single as Singapore’s players stormed the pitch to celebrate a historic victory. Vinu Kumar was adjudged player-of-the-match for her composed 38 off 45 and her 2 wickets in the first innings.
Brief Scores:
Singapore (110/5 in 19.5 overs) defeated Oman (109/6 in 20 overs) by 5 wickets with 1 ball to spare