Hong Kong, Bhutan, UAE start T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier with wins

Theertha Satish helped the hosts UAE start the T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier with a win over Malaysia at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Monday (November 22). In the other two matches, Mariko Hill guided Hong Kong’s chase against Nepal and Bhutan beat Kuwait by 40 runs.



Put into bat, UAE lost an early wicket, but Satish and opener Esha Oza added 56 runs for the second wicket to take them to a formidable total. Oza scored 33 from 30 balls, while Satish was the top-scorer with 46.



For Malaysia, Mahirah Izzati Ismail was the most successful bowler with two wickets to her name.



In the chase, Malaysia started slowly with skipper Winifred Duraisingam taking her time even as Wan Julia tried to keep them in the game. Once Julia departed, they couldn’t keep up with the required run rate and fell way short despite losing only two wickets. Their eventually finished on 101 for two from the stipulated 20 overs.



All the UAE bowlers were frugal with only Chamani Seneviratne going over six over runs per over.



Over at the ICC Academy Ground 2, despite losing two early wickets of Yasmin Daswani and Natasha Miles, Hill kept Hong Kong in the hunt during the chase with a 38-run partnership with Kary Chan before taking them home with Emma Lai in the 18^th over. Hill remained not out on 42 off 38 balls.



Earlier, opting field first, Hong Kong restricted Nepal to 104 for three from the stipulated 20 overs. Hong Kong bowlers struck early removing Kabita Kunwar and Kajal Shrestha for a duck and four respectively. From 21 for two, Sita Rana Magar and Indu Barma took Nepal over the three-figure mark even though runs didn’t come at a faster clip.



In the second match at the ICC Academy, put into bat, Bhutan were in early strife when Khadija Khalil trapped Ngawang Choden in front in the second over. At one stage they were 65 for four, Tshering Zangmo and Pema Seldon added 43 runs for the fifth wicket with the former scoring an unbeaten 34.



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Bhutan finished with 114 for six from the 20 overs with four Kuwait bowlers taking one wicket apiece.



In reply, Kuwait struggled throughout their innings with Bhutan’s tight bowlin. As many as five batters were run out with only two batters reaching double figures. They were 36 for five inside ten overs and despite some attempt to resurrect the chase by Maryam Omar, Kuwait couldn’t make a dash for the target.



When Omar became the seventh wicket to fall, Kuwait’s hope of chasing the target went downhill. From 69 for six, they lost four wickets for five runs and were eventually skittled out for 74 in the final over.



For Bhutan, Karma Samten and Dechen Wangmo took two wickets each, while Zangmo chipped in with the wicket of Siobhan Gomez.



Brief Scores:



UAE 131/4 in 20 overs (Theertha Satish 46, Esha Oza 33; Mahirah Izzati Ismail 2/20) beat Malaysia 101/2 in 20 overs (Wan Julia 44, Elsa Hunter*) by 30 runs POTM:Theertha Satish



Nepal 104/3 in 20 overs (Sita Rana Magar 40*, Indu Barma 31; Betty Chan 1/12) lost to Hong Kong 105/4 in 18 overs (Mariko Hill 42*; Sabnam Rai 1/14) by six wickets POTM: Mariko Hill



Bhutan 114/6 in 20 overs (Tshering Zangmo 34*; Khadija Khalil 1/6) beat Kuwait 74/10 in 19.3 overs (Khadija Khalil 29; Karma Samten 2/9, Dechen Wangmo 2/12) by 40 runs POTM: Tshering Zangmo