Spirited Thailand beat UAE; Pakistan stun India to bounce back in Asia Cup

Spirited Thailand continued their winning streak in the Asia cup as Pakistan stun India to register their third victory of the tournament on Friday (October 7) at the Sylhet International Stadium. 

In the first match of the day, UAE won the toss and opted to bowl first against spirited Thailand. Nanthita Boonsukham replaced Suleeporn Laomi in the playing XI for Thailand, while Suraksha Kotte came in for Priyanjali Jain. Left-hander Mahika Gaur gave UAE an early breakthrough with the wicket of Nannapat Koncharoenkai for 6. 

Captain Naruemol Chaiwai and Natthakan Chantham steadied the ship for Thailand in the powerplay. The pair took Thailand to 32 at the end of the powerplay without losing a wicket. Khushi Sharma provided UAE with a much-needed breakthrough immediately after the powerplay with the wicket of Natthakan Chantham. Thailand captain Chaya Mughal rotated her bowlers well to restrict the opposition to 42 for two at the end of the 10 overs.

Former captain Sornnarin Tippoch joined Chaiwai when Thailand were struggling to get runs in the middle overs. Chaiwai was the aggressor among the pair, with Tippoch hitting the first six of the innings. Mughal brought herself back, and she broke the partnership of 45 runs. She bowled Tippoch for 25 off 31 balls to reduce Thailand to 77 for three. Thailand lost Chanida Sutthiruang in Mughal’s last over. 

Gaur, who impressed with her economical spell, bowled the last over of the innings. Rosenan Kanoh smashed two sixes in the final over to take Thailand to 108 for four in the first innings. 

In reply, Nattaya Boochatham started the defense with a maiden over as UAE opted to open with Esha Oza and Kavisha Egodage. The young opening pair survived the powerplay without losing any wickets. Chaiwai introduced Phannita Maya immediately after the powerplay, and the right-arm pacer dismissed Theertha Satish for six. UAE could not get going as they were 40 for two at the halfway mark. 

Thipatcha Putthawong bowled Egodage for 29 as UAE slipped further to 55 for three. Sharma was the next one to depart in the very next over. UAE lost the last four wickets in just 22 runs, and they could score 89 runs in the chase. For Thailand, Putthawong and Onnicha Kamchomphu took two wickets each to help register a win by 19 runs. 

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In the afternoon session, Pakistan's captain Bismah Maroof won the toss and opted to bat first against India. Pakistan made two changes, leaving out Kainat Imtiaz and Diana Baig for left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal and Aiman Anwer. India also made two changes to their Playing XI with Harmanpreet Kaur and Radha Yadav coming in for Kiran Navgire and Sneh Rana. Pakistan's openers Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin started well to post 25 runs in the first four overs. Kaur introduced Pooja Vastrakar inside the powerplay and she gave immediate results and dismissed Amin for 11.

Deepti Sharma took two wickets in the final over of the powerplay to swing the momentum in India's favor as Pakistan were struggling for 33 for three. Pakistan desperately needed the partnership between Maroof and Nida Dar to take them to a respectable total and the pair delivered exactly that. Both players took time to settle down and then went after India's spinners. Dar smashed Dayalan Hemalatha to register the first six of the Pakistan innings. The duo kept putting pressure on India and went past a partnership of 50 runs in the 13th over.

Thakur bagged the prized wicket of Maroof to break the partnership of 76 runs, but India could not stop Dar, who hit her sixth T20I half-century off 30 balls. Aliya Riaz looked in good touch, but a sharp catch from S Meghana sent her back for just seven. Dar remained unbeaten on 56 off 37 balls to take Pakistan to their highest score in this edition of the Asia Cup.

In the chase, S Meghana gave India a positive start as she smashed Dar for a six, and hit Sadia Iqbal for a four over extra cover. Maroof handed the ball to Nashra Sandhu and the left-arm spinner struck with her second ball to dismiss Meghana for 15. Jemimah Rodrigues survived an early scare when Omaima Sohail dropped her at mid-on, but that didn't last long with Tuba Hassan taking a catch.

Hemalatha and Mandhana tried to rebuild India's chase, but Aiman Anwer took a sharp catch to reduce India to 50 for three at the halfway mark. India experimented with their batting order and sent Vastrakar to bat at five, but that didn't work as the batter was run out at the non-striker's end. Sharma and Kaur tried to build a solid partnership, but India lost both experienced campaigners in quick succession.

Even after the collapse, Richa Ghosh kept India in the hunt for the total and tonked Sandhu for two back-to-back sixes. She tried to clear the boundaries once again in the 18th over, but Riaz took a simple catch to dash India's hopes. Anwer cleaned up the last batter, Rajeshwari Gayakwad in the final over and Pakistan registered a famous victory by 13 runs.

Brief Scores: 

Thailand 108/4 in 20 overs (Naruemol Chaiwai 37*, Sornnarin Tippoch 25; Khushi Sharma 1/11) beat UAE 89/9 in 20 overs (Kavisha Egodage 29, Chaya Mughal 17; Thipatcha Putthawong 2/12) by 19 runs

Pakistan 137/6 in 20 overs (Nida Dar 56*, Bismah Maroof 32; Deepti Sharma 3/27) beat India 124 all out in 19.4 overs (Richa Ghosh 26, Dayalan Hemalatha 20; Nashra Sandhu 3/30) by 13 runs