USA, Canada register wins on opening day of T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier

Tara Norris shone with two wickets on her debut for the USA during the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifiers at the Reforma Athletic Club in Naucalpan in Mexico on Monday (October 18). In the second match, opener Divya Saxena’s unbeaten half-century and a three-wicket haul by Saniyah Zia helped Canada defeat Argentina by 72 runs.



Put in to bat first, Brazil lost both the openers inside the first four overs as Marianne Artur was trapped in front by Norris with her second ball of the match. The other opener Laura da Silva could not last for long and became the second victim of Norris. Brazil were in deep trouble inside the power play when their captain Roberta Avery was caught behind in the sixth over.



Laura Boas hit the first boundary of the day for Brazil, but that joy was short-lived and she was dismissed by Moksha Chaudhary after two balls. Brazil could not find any partnerships and could only score 63 for eight in 20 overs. Only Renata Sousa could  reach double digits as she remained unbeaten on 14 runs. Moksha Choudhary took two wickets for the USA and Suhani Thadani took the prized scalp of Avery. The USA’s dominance in the outfield was highlighted by the three run outs.



Chasing a modest total of 64, the USA were rocked early as the opener Shebani Bhaskar was run out by Avery. The early wicket brought captain Sindhu Sriharsha to the crease and she navigated through the power play with Gargi Bhogle. The pair added 35 runs for the second wicket. The dot ball pressure by Sousa and Lara Moises led to Bhogle losing her wicket in the tenth over. Anika Kolan at four smashed two boundaries in the 13th over to take the USA beyond the 50 mark. Sriharsha then patiently led her side to a six-wicket win to help them open their account in the tournament.



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In the second match of the day, batting first, Canada got off to a flying start with openers Achini Perera and Saxena adding 38 runs in the power play. Argentina were also guilty of leaking runs as they gave away 14 extra runs in the first six overs. The opening pair put on a partnership of 74 runs before Perera was caught by Alison Stocks off Tamara Basile's bowling. Saxena brought up her half-century in the 18th over off just 58 balls. She remained unbeaten in 70 at the end of the innings and Canada scored 134 for three from their 20 overs.



Argentina got off to a steady start in the power play as they scored 15 runs and lost only one wicket. Kamma Mirchandani took a wicket with her first ball of the match as Lucia Taylor was stumped by Canadian wicket-keeper Sana Zafar. Saxena continued with her form and dismissed Mariana Martinez for just nine.



Canada completed a team hat-trick in the 17th over as Stocks was run out before Zia struck twice. Zia came back in the penultimate over to grab her third wicket of the day as Zafar took yet another catch behind the stumps. Hiba Shamsad castled Argentina captain Veronica Vasquez with the last ball of the innings to seal the victory by 72 runs.



Brief Scores:



Brazil 63/8 in 20 overs (Renata Sousa 14, Laura da Silva 8; Tara Norris 5/2) lost to the USA 64/4 in 16.1 overs (Sindhu Sriharshe 24*, Anika Kolan 14; Laura Boas 6/1) by six wickets



Canada 134/3 in 20 overs (Divya Saxena 70*, Achini Perera 28; Tamara Basile 19/1) beat Argentina 62/9 in 20 overs (Veronica Vasquez 19, Mariama Martinaz 9; Saniyah Zua 8/3) by 72 runs