Indonesia women beat PNG to qualify for first ever ICC World Cup

Indonesia Women on July 6 (Wednesday) scripted history after confirming their ticket to South Africa for playing the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. This is the first time that Indonesia has managed to qualify for a World Cup event after defeating Papua New Guinea (PNG).

To note, both Indonesia and PNG were involved in the best-of-three match. While Indonesia won the first match, PNG made a good comeback in the second encounter and won the match by four wickets. Coming to the third match, it was all or nothing for both teams.

Talking more about the final match, Indonesia batted first and could only manage to score 89/8 in their allotted 20 overs. PNG also had a shaky start to their chase but they somehow managed to reach close to the target. With just three runs required to win in the final over, Indonesia’s Ayu Kurniartini was given the ball to bowl the final over of the match and she did not disappoint her team.

Kurniartini scalped two wickets on the first two balls of the over as PNG got all-out and lost the match by two runs. As a result, Indonesia went on to book the tickets for their first-ever ICC World Cup at any level.

I am so happy and so proud of the team: Wesikaratna Dewi

Indonesian skipper Wesikaratna Dewi was elated with her side’s victory as she emphasized that her sight is now set on the future.

“I am so happy and so proud of the team. I cannot believe that we have reached this point, but we are now determined to make all of Indonesia proud of our success at the World Cup,” said Dewi as quoted by the ICC.

Acting Chairperson of Persatuan Cricket Indonesia (PCI) Abhiram Singh Yadav said, “We have worked very hard to get to this place and this represents a new milestone for women’s sport in Indonesia. I can’t wait to showcase our unique Indonesian style and culture with the rest of the world in South Africa.”