Nahida Akter, Kathryn Bryce, Katherine Fraser star on day 2 of Commonwealth Games Qualifiers

Bangladesh register their second win of the Commonwealth Games Qualifiers at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (January 19). In the other match, Kathryn Bryce led from the front and Katherine Fraser took four-wickets as Scotland beat the hosts Malaysia by 31 runs.

In the first match of the day, having put into bat by Kenya, Murshida Khatun started aggressively for Bangladesh as they scored 24 runs from the first two overs. However, once Lavendah Idambo accounted for Shamima Sultana in the third over, Bangladesh suffered a collapse and went from 24 for no loss to 50 for six.

Mercyline Ochieng started the downslide when she picked skipper Nigar Sultana for a solitary run. From there, Queentor Abel was the wrecker-in-chief as she removed three of the Bangladesh middle order batters including Murshida and in-form Fargana Hoque.

At that stage, Moni walked in to join Salma and together they resurrected the innings before taking on the Kenya bowlers. 23 runs came from the last two overs as Bangladesh finished on 125 for six from the stipulated 20 overs.

In the chase, with Salma removing Veronica Abuga in the first over for a first ball duck, Kenya didn’t have the greatest of starts. But it went from bad to worse as two more wickets fell in the next two overs.

At the end of the power play, Kenya were 23 for three and introduction of Akter made things worse for them as skipper Margaret Ngoche was trapped in front of the wicket. Akter added two more wickets to her kitty in the ninth over of the innings as Kenya succumbed to 33 for seven. Eventually they were bowled out for 45 in just 12.4 overs with only Sharon Juma showing some resistance.

For Bangladesh, Akter finished with incredible figures of 12 for five as she picked up the last of Kenya’s wicket.

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In the second match of the day, Sarah Bryce and Abbi Aitken-Drummond started aggressively after Kathryn opted to bat first. The opening duo added 41 runs before Arianna Natsya accounted for Sarah when she was on 30 off 18 balls.

Waking in at three in the fifth over, Kathryn started slowly with Aitken-Drummond taking the attack to Malaysia’s bowlers. Once they lost Aitken-Drummond in the 14^th over, the allrounder upped the ante even as Scotland lost three wickets in quick time.

In the 19^th over, Kathryn completed her fifty in with a couple and remained unbeaten on 62 from 46 balls. Scotland finished on 148 for five from the 20 overs with Nik Nur Atiela and Mas Elysa picking up two wickets each.

Chasing 149 runs for a win, Malaysia started well with openers adding 32 runs in 4.3 overs before Fraser came into the attack and removed Wan Julia for 11. From there, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the off-spinner picked up Winifred Duraisingam, Yusrina Yaakop and Arianna. At the other end, Abtaha Maqsood struck twice to remove two more batters to leave Malaysia reeling at 69 for seven in the 12^th over.

Intan Jamahidaya and Wan Nor Zulaika added 45 runs for the seventh wicket, but it was too little too late for Malaysia as they fell 31 runs short. For Scotland, Fraser ended her spell with figures of four for 19, while Maqsood chipped in with two wickets.

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh 125/6 in 20 overs (Ritu Moni 39*, Salma Khatun 33*; Queentor Abel 3/14, Mercyline Ochieng 2/21) beat Kenya 45/10 in 12.4 overs (Sharon Juma 24; Nahida Akter 5/12) by 80 runs. POTM: Nahida Akter

Scotland 148/5 in 2o overs (Kathryn Bryce 62*, Abbi Aitken-Drummond 43; Nik Nur Atiela 2/25) beat Malaysia 117/8 in 2o overs (Intan Jamahidaya 24; Katherine Fraser 4/19, Abataha Maqsood 2/15) by 31 runs. POTM: Kathryn Bryce