ICC Women’s T20 WC Qualifier: Ireland seal Group B semi-final spot with resounding win over Vanuatu, Sri Lanka confirm Group A semi-final spot

Tournament favourites, Sri Lanka, confirmed their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier Group A semi-final spot with a dominant, 67-run victory over Uganda at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, while the Netherlands dashed Zimbabwe’s hopes of semi-final contention, with a hard-fought, 14-run win at Tolerance Oval in Wednesday’s afternoon matches.

Opener Vishmi Gunaratne (player of the match) and the Sri Lankan spinners were the stars for the table-toppers from Group A. Netherlands produced a solid, all-round performance with captain Babette de Leede, leading from the front and producing a player-of-the-match-winning performance with the bat in their crucial Group B encounter, which kept their semi-final hopes alive while ending Zimbabwe’s.

Zimbabwe vs Netherlands

Opting to bat first, Netherlands lost key batter Iris Zwilling early to a direct hit at the non-striker’s end by Pellagia Mujaji, but Sterre Kalis and de Leede rebuilt with a watchful stand.

The partnership began slowly as the Netherlands ambled to 29 in the first six overs. Kalis opened up with back-to-back fours off Josephine Nkomo and looked in ominous touch.

Sharne Mayers was brought into the attack in the 13^th over and struck off her first delivery, cleaning up de Leede for 37 to break the stand.

Francis Chipare doubled it up with the wicket of Kalis two overs later, trapping her in front for 34 off 37 balls.

Netherlands added 42 runs in the last five overs with Robine Rijke leading the charge. She remained unbeaten on 39 off 25 balls to give the innings the late push it badly needed.

In reply, Modester Mupachikwa led Zimbabwe’s fight at the top but Netherlands struck at the other end, sending back three batters inside the Powerplay.

Frederique Overdijk, Silver Siegers and Zwilling took a wicket apiece as Zimbabwe were reduced to 29/3. Caroline de Lange added another scalp to the tally after the Powerplay, sending Ashley Ndiraya back to the hut for three.

Nkomo and Mupachikwa resurrected the innings with a solid partnership but with Netherlands maintaining impeccable discipline with the ball, the runs were not coming as quickly as they would have wanted.

Zimbabwe needed 52 in the last five overs to win, but could only manage 37 more and finished on 121/4, despite the Nkomo-Mupachikwa stand remaining unbeaten.

Netherland’s triumph today makes it two in three games in the tournament so far.

Sri Lanka vs Uganda

A career-best T20I knock from Vishmi Gunaratne and a brilliant bowling effort led Sri Lanka to a massive win in Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.

The opening stand began with a bang for Sri Lanka as Chamari Athapaththu and Gunaratne completed their fifty-run partnership from 45 balls. It was brought to a screeching halt by Janet Mbabazi who removed Athapaththu for 24 off 21.

Harshitha Madavi was run out shortly afterwards, but Gunaratne found support from Hasini Perera, who came in at number four. Gunaratne completed her half-century from 51 deliveries, with Perera being the aggressor at the other end. The latter was eventually dismissed for 30 off 24 balls in the 18th over.

Gunaratne finished on an unbeaten 73 off 64 balls, her highest score in T20Is, leading Sri Lanka to a formidable 154/4 in 20 overs.

In the chase, Sri Lanka were all over Uganda in no time, reducing them to 22/2 inside the Powerplay.

Inoka Ranaweera stepped into the attack immediately after the Powerplay and struck twice in two deliveries, limiting Uganda to 22/4. Left-arm wrist spinner, Shashini Gimhani, also took a wicket in her first over, leaving Uganda five wickets down inside 10 overs with 35 runs on the board.

Prosscovia Alako resisted Sri Lanka’s charge but scarcely found support from the other end as wickets kept tumbling. She made 36 in 32 balls and was the seventh batter dismissed.

Kavisha Dilhari saw off the last two wickets from successive deliveries in the final over and Uganda were bundled out for 87, handing Sri Lanka a satisfactory victory.

With the 67-run win, Sri Lanka continue their unbeaten streak in the tournament with three wins out of three in Group A.

Scores in brief:

Match 13:

Netherlands beat Zimbabwe by 14 runs

Netherlands 135 for 6, 20 overs (Robin Rijke 39 not out, Babette De Leede 37, Sterre Kalis 34; Francisca Chipare 2-27)

Zimbabwe 121 for 4, 20 overs (Josephine Nkomo 39 not out, Modester Mupachikwa 39 not out; Caroline De Lange 1-17, Iris Zwilling 1-19)

Player of the Match – Babette De Leede

Match 14:

Sri Lanka beat Uganda by 67 runs

Sri Lanka 154 for 4, 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 73 not out, Hasini Perera 30; Janet Mbabazi 1-19)

Uganda 87 all out, 19.2 overs (Prosscovia Alako 36; Inoka Ranaweera 2-10, Shashini Gimhani 2-23, Kavisha Dilhari 2-27)

Player of the Match – Vishmi Gunaratne

A stellar, all-round performance by Ireland, saw them book their place in the Group B semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, with an unequivocal win over Vanuatu under the Tolerance Oval lights. In the second match at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Thailand overwhelmed the United States of America (USA) to further improve their chances of making it to the Group A semi-finals.

Both Ireland and Thailand secured remarkable, nine-wicket victories, setting them apart in their respective groups. Ireland’s was their third, consecutive win in the tournament so far, placing them firmly in the lead of Group B.

In Group A, Thailand have bounced back superbly from their tournament-opening defeat against Sri Lanka with this second successive win, and now aim to beat Scotland in their final group fixture on Friday, a match that will decide who will join Sri Lanka in the semi-finals from Group A.

Vanuatu vs Ireland

Vanuatu were asked to bat first by Ireland and were in a reasonable position, at 58 for 1 in 11.2 overs, before losing the wicket of their top scorer for the night, Valenta Langiatu (27 off 31, four fours).

Langiatu’s wicket derailed their efforts with the bat as the middle and lower orders succumbed to Ireland’s disciplined bowling. Other than the 49-run, second-wicket stand between Langiatu and Nasimana Navaika (19), Vanuatu had little to show with the bat as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals.

Amid the constant loss of wickets, the Vanuatu batters failed to make runs at the rate they needed to. Twenty runs were added in the last six overs, with only a single boundary hit, and a total of six wickets were lost in that period, going from 68/3 (14 overs), Vanuatu staggered to finish their innings at 88 for nine.

Eimear Richardson produced a brilliant bowling spell, her off-breaks earning her three wickets for eight runs in four overs, she was later named Player of the Match for her efforts. Captain, Laura Delany and Arlene Kelly took two wickets each.

In reply, the prolific Irish opening pair of Gaby Lewis and Amy Hunter provided their side with an 82-run stand, following their match-winning, 130-run partnership in the win against Zimbabwe over the weekend. Today, Lewis scored 45 from 36 balls with the help of eight fours.

Hunter remained unbeaten on a run-a-ball 34 which included two fours. The pair are now at the top of the tournament’s run-scorers list. Lewis has a tally of 141 runs from three innings at an average of 47 – the most runs in the tournament – while Hunter is in second place with 130 runs in three innings at 65 runs an innings.

Thailand vs USA

For the second, consecutive match, Thailand’s bowlers proved their captain’s decision to bowl first, right. USA’s batters remained on the back foot throughout their innings. The start was disastrous, seeing opener, Disha Dhingra bowled for a first-ball duck by Chanida Sutthiruang. None of the top, middle, or lower-order batters made an impression as Thailand bowlers made regular inroads.

USA had crashed to 36 for nine in 10.5 overs when Saanvi Immadi joined Isani Vaghela. The two absorbed the pressure in the initial stages of their partnership, with Immadi blocking her end with three off 25. She eventually fell to Suleeporn Laomi. Before her dismissal, Immadi helped Vaghela take the team past the 50-run mark. The 18-run, final-wicket stand was the best partnership of the innings. Vaghela top-scored for her side with 15 not out.

Left-arm spinner and Player of the Match, Thipatcha Putthawong, was the pick of the bowlers for Thailand with four wickets for 12 runs in four overs. Onnicha Kamchomphu and Chanida Sutthiruang took two wickets apiece.

In reply, Thailand lost opener Nattaya Boochatham to the first ball of the innings, Geetika Kodali going through her defences. Wicketkeeper-batter, Nannapat Koncharoenkai, and captain Naruemol Chaiwai then batted with renewed focus and responsibility, ensuring that their team reached its target without any further damage.

Koncharoenkai hit five fours in her undefeated 26-ball 31. Chaiwai provided a steady hand, scoring 19 from 30 balls (two fours). Thailand chased down the target in 9.2 overs.

Scores in brief:

Match 15:

Ireland beat Vanuatu by nine wickets

Vanuatu 88 for 9, 20 overs (Valenta Langiatu 27, Nasimana Navaika 19; Eimear Richardson 3-8, Laura Delany 2-10, Arlene Kelly 2-15)

Ireland 89 for 1, 12.3 overs (Gaby Lewis 45, Amy Hunter 34 not out; Nasimana Navaika 1-12)

Player of the Match – Eimear Richardson

Match 16:

Thailand beat USA by nine wickets

USA  54 all out, 17.5 overs (Isani Vaghela 15 not out, Pooja Ganesh 13; Thipatcha Putthawong 4-12, Onnicha Kamchomphu 2-4, Chanida Sutthiruang 2-15)

Thailand 56 for 1, 9.2 overs (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 31 not out, Naruemol Chaiwai 19 not out; Geetika Kodali 1-13)

Player of the Match – Thipatcha Putthawong