Undefeated UAE women qualify for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup global qualifiers 2022

By K.R. Nayar

The final day of the six-nation ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier was exhilarating. The UAE women’s team created history recording a clean sweep over all their five opponents. My final day’s report for the ICC website on UAE’s journey and Hong Kong finishing as runners up along with some of the special moments captured

UAE women's team with the winners' trophy.  All photos by K.R. Nayar 

UAE women recorded a clean sweep winning against all five opponents in the six-nation ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier to qualify for the Women’s T20 World Cup global qualifier in 2022 for a place in the ICC Women’s World Cup T20 World Cup 2023 to be held in South Africa.

The UAE fans that cheered their players with placards 

UAE remained unconquered winning five matches in a row. They began with a 30 runs win over Malaysia and followed it up with an 11 runs win over Hong Kong. Then they went on to beat Bhutan by 47 runs and Kuwait by seven wickets. In the final match on the final day of this six-team contest, they outplayed Nepal by 48 runs at the ICC Academy ground on Sunday.  Malaysia pulled off a thrilling 11 runs win over Bhutan while Hong Kong defeated Kuwait by 35 runs. Hong Kong finished runners-up with eight points after losing just one match against the UAE.

Nepal vs UAE

A deadly four-wicket spell from Samaira Dharnidharka and an all round show from Chamani Seneviratna ensured UAE an emphatic 48 runs win over Nepal. Seneviratna cracked 52 runs and bagged two wickets while Dharnidharka wrecked Nepal with a spell of four wickets for just five runs.

Earlier, Nepal won the toss and elected to field. Kabita Kunwar picked an early wicket by clean bowling Esha Oza for 4 with the last ball of the first over. Theertha Suresh and Kavisha Egodage quickly settled down and slowly accelerated the run flow. They picked the gaps and put on 58 runs for the second wicket. Sangita Rai had Egodage, who went for a sweep and skied the shot to be caught by Kunwar for 22.

Chamani Seneviratna who joined Suresh went for her shots. The pair steered their team past the 100-run mark. At the score of 111, Suresh got bowled by Sita Rana Magar for a well-made 47 runs. Her knock came off 46 balls with three boundaries. Samaira Dharnidharka got trapped leg before by Shabnam Rai for a duck.  Seneviratna reached her half-century and at her score of 52, she got bowled by Kunwar. Her knock from off 36 balls had seven boundaries.  UAE thus posted a challenging 127 for 5 in the 20 overs at a run rate of 6.35.

Nepal got off to a shaky start losing the prize wicket of Sita Rana Magar for 13. UAE skipper Chaya Mughal had Magar, who went for a pull, caught by Seneviratna. Khushi Sharma, who had made it a habit of picking early wickets, did the same forcing Kabita Kunwar to hit straight into the hands of Vaishnavi Mahesh for 4. Nepal skipper Rubina Chhetry joined opener Indu Barma but lasted only eight balls to score two runs. Chhetry got caught by Satish off Sharma for 2. That was when Samaira Dharnidharka picked the first of her four wickets by trapping Barma leg before for 15. Dharnidharka then went on to destroy Nepal’s batting by striking repeatedly. She clean bowled Sarita Magar and Nepal wicketkeeper Kajal Shreshtha. Both of them scored only eight runs each. When Dharnidharka also had Kabita Joshi caught by Khushi Sharma for 1, Nepal was reduced to 61 for 7.

UAE then went for the kill with Seneviratna clean bowling Karuna Bhandari for the 2 and Apsari Begam for 4. And when the UAE had Shabnam Rai run out for 2, it was celebration time for Chaya Mughal and her team.  

Chamani Seneviratna who received the Player of the Match award said: “Our plan was to play the full 20 overs and have a good total. My captain Chaya Mughal gave me the confidence and we are delighted to have been able to execute our plan.”

Skipper Mughal, lauding her team for producing an unbeaten run, remarked: “This win is the result of the hard work we put in especially in the preparation for this tournament. We used to practice hard and often against the boys. We practiced almost till 11 pm and everyone contributed to this win.”

Mughal then revealed how her team went about the task. “All of us had only one challenge and one dream and that was to win this tournament. We took it match-by-match, one step at a time, in our march towards victory. We thank the number of supporters who came and cheered for us.”

At the prize-giving ceremony, the UAE team received the winners’ trophy from William Glenwright, ICC General Manager, Development, in the presence of Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, Niteesha Kothari, ICC Tournament Director, and Subhan Ahmad, Advisor Emirates Cricket Board.

Nepal’s Sita Rana Magar was adjudged the Player of the tournament.

Brief scores:

UAE bt Nepal by 48 runs. UAE 127 for 5 in 20 overs (Theertha Satish 47, Kavisha Egodage 22, Chamani Seneviratna 52, Kabita Kunwar 2 for 21) Nepal 79 in 19.4 overs (Indu Barma 15, Sita Rana Magar 13, Khushi Sharma 2 for 20, Samaira Dharnidharka 4 for 5, Chamani Seneviratna 2 for 6)
Player of the Match: Chamani Seneviratna.

Bhutan vs Malaysia

Malaysia won the toss and elected to bat first. They got off to a poor start losing the first three wickets for just nine runs with three of them falling for a duck. The three included their skipper Winifred Duraisingam, Elsa Hunter, and Yusrina Yaakop. The chief destroyer was Anju Gurung who clean bowled Duraisingam and trapped Hunter leg before. Yaakop then edged Tashi Cheki to Yeshey Wangmo. To make matters worse, Mas Elysa got run out for 2.  When Mahirah Izzati Ismail too got bowled by Sonam Choden for 1, half the side was back in the pavilion for 18 runs.

Then Ainna Hamizah Hashim and opener Wan Julia took the score to 28 before Julia was brilliantly caught and bowled by Dechen Wangmo for 10. This was followed by a fighting partnership of 37 runs for the seventh wicket between Hashim and Nur Arianna Natsya. Tshering Zangmo provided the breakthrough having Hashim caught by Karma Samten for 18. Samten then clean bowled Natsya for 19. Nik Nur Ateiela remained unbeaten on 11 as Malaysia posted 87 for 8 in 20 overs.

Bhutan got off to a brilliant start through their openers Dechen Wangmo and Ngawang Choden registering a 34 runs partnership from the first eight overs.  Mas Elysa then provided the breakthrough by having Choden drive straight into the hands of Nik Nur Atiela for 22. In the same over, Tshering Zangmo got run out for 1. All the benefits of a good start diminished when Yeshey Wangmo got bowled by Mahirah Izzati Ismail for a duck.

Mahirah Izzati Ismail gets a kiss from her teammates for winning the Player of the Match award 

While Sonam Paldon and Wangmo took the score to 55, Ismail struck again to have Paldon caught by Nur Arianna Natsya for 6. When Ismail had Sonam Choden stumped by wicketkeeper Wan Julia, Malaysia took control of the match. Soon Pema Seldon too got run out for a duck and Bhutan slipped to 65 for 6 in 15.3 overs.  Skipper Duraisingam then struck twice to remove Anju Gurung and Tashi Cheki. Mas Elysa then went on to clean bowl Wangmo, who scored a fighting 35, to end Bhutan’s challenge and restrict them to 76 in 19 overs and win the match by 11 runs.

Mahirah Izzati Ismail, who was adjudged Player of the Match, said: “The wickets that I took have been the result of all the efforts I have put in with the desire to win the match.” Bhutan skipper Yeshey Choden was delighted with her team’s debut performance in an ICC event. “First of all, I thank ICC for providing us with such a platform. We fell short after a good start. We learned a lot from the matches in this tournament and are happy that we gave a good fight to teams like Malaysia and Nepal. We assure you that we will perform even better in the next tournament.”

Malaysia skipper Winifred Duraisingam attributed the victory to the combined team effort. "After Bhutan got off to good start, we had a huddle in the middle and decided that we won’t give up and fielded strongly. I thank everyone on the team for rising to the occasion and giving their best. Mahirah Izzati Ismail was outstanding giving 200 percent to ensure that we win this closely fought match. We have learned a lot from all the matches we played. We will return stronger in the coming events.”

Brief scores:

Malaysia bt Bhutan by 11 runs. Malaysia 87 for 8 in 20 overs (Nur Arianna Natsya 19, Ainna Hamizah Hashim 18, Anju Gurung 2 for 12) Bhutan 76 in 19 overs (Dechen Wangmo 35, Ngawang Choden 22, Winifred Duraisingam 2 for 9, Mas Elysa 2 for 15, Mahirah Izzati Ismail 3 for 8)
Player of the Match: Mahirah Izzati Ismail

Kuwait vs Hong Kong

Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat first in the third and final match of the qualifiers. At the score of 37, Kuwait’s Siobhan Gomez trapped Shanzeen Shahzad leg before for 18. Opener Mariko Hill and Natasha Miles scored at a brisk pace. They put on 83 runs for the second wicket before Hill got caught behind off Khadija Khalil for 55. Her knock came off 50 balls with six boundaries.
Skipper Kary Chan joined Miles and together they swelled the total. Mile remained unconquered on 40 off 35 balls with four boundaries. Chan hit a quick 26 off 18 balls with three boundaries before being bowled to the last ball of the innings from Maria Jasvi.

Chasing the huge target, Kuwait lost their opener Priyada Murali to the first ball from Kary Chan. Going for a drive, Murali got caught by Miles. Skipper Amna Tariq, who joined opener Maryam Omar began by hitting Chan for a boundary. Omar hit two boundaries off the fourth over from Betty Chan. They carried the score to 31 when Hill bowled Omar for 18. Siobhan Gomez who joined Tariq went for her shots. By the halfway mark Kuwait were 56 for 2, needing 100 more runs off the last ten overs. The pair put on 55 runs for the third wicket when Maryam Bibi provided the breakthrough. Bibi trapped Tariq leg before for 32. Her knocks off 41 balls had three boundaries.
Kuwait went past the 100 run mark in 17.1 overs.  Hill bowled a tight 18^th over giving away just two runs. Gomez got run out in the last over after scoring 36 runs off 38 balls with three boundaries and Hong Kong won the match by 35 runs.

Mariko Hill, who was adjudged Player of the Match, said: “We never expected to be playing in a tournament and hence we are thankful to the ICC for organizing such a six-nation tournament.” It was Hill’s second Player of the Match award in this event. “Whatever I have displayed is the result of hard work. My sweep shot is the result of lots of practice. The partnership with Natasha Miles was the result of playing together for long and our determination. We had decided before the match that we will all go out and give it all since we have nothing to lose.”

On her team finishing as the runners-up, Hong Kong skipper Kary Chan said: “I feel proud of our players. This was the first tour for many of them and they all gave their best. I also thank my team’s support staff that worked hard with us and I also thank all the supporters from Hong Kong who have watched us perform.”

Brief scores:

Hong Kong bt Kuwait by 35 runs. Hong Kong 155 for 3 in 20 overs (Mariko Hill 55, Natasha Miles 40n.o, Kary Chan 26) Kuwait 120 for 4 in 20 overs (Amna Tariq 32, Siobhan Gomez 36, Khadija Khalil 22n.o)
Player of the Match: Mariko Hill