A damp morning on the final day of the group stages at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier saw the final three Group A games washed out.
The afternoon’s pair of Group B fixtures benefitted from clearer skies. Thailand beat Hong Kong by 43 runs courtesy of an aggressive 75 from Nannapat Koncharoenkai, which propelled her team to an unassailable 121 for four in their 20 overs.
The result allowed them to finish first in Group B and set up a semi-final clash with Nepal on Friday. Hong Kong, on the other hand, will face the UAE in the other semi-final after the Gulf nation topped their group.
Kuwait rounded off their tournament by defending a target of 86 against Myanmar, winning by a mere seven runs.
Thailand vs Hong Kong
After Hong Kong elected to bowl first, opening bowlers Alison Siu and Iqra Sahar started well, bowling tight lines. The dot ball pressure they built up led to a frustrated Suwanan Khiaoto flicking Siu straight into the hands of Maryam Bibi at mid-wicket.
Hong Kong would go on to lose their lines and lengths. All of the first six boundaries of the innings were scored on the leg side as Thailand reached a score of 51 after ten overs. Hong Kong recovered well, conceding just 11 runs in the next four overs as spinners Betty Chan and Kary Chan began to turn the screws.
However, Koncharoenkai was not going to let the opposition settle, scoring 36 runs off her final 19 balls to set Hong Kong a challenging target of 122.
Opener Mariko Hill started well, hitting three fours in a knock of 17. Hill, however, did not receive much support from the other end before lofting Nattaya Boochatham straight into the hands of Onnicha Kamchomphu to reduce Hong Kong to 21 for three in the sixth over.
Yasmin Daswani and Marina Lamplough added some respectability to Hong Kong’s total, putting on a stand of 28 for the fifth wicket. Lamplough top-scored for her team, scoring 19 runs to push them to 78 for nine at the end of their twenty overs.
Brief Scores:
Thailand 121/4 in 20 Overs (Koncharoenkai 75, Chantham 23, Siu 1-18) beat Hong Kong 78/9 in 20 Overs (Lamplough 19, Hill 17, Boochatham 4-9) by 43 Runs
Myanmar vs Kuwait
Choosing to bowl first, Myanmar put up what was arguably their best performance of an ultimately winless tournament. Zar Li Win had Amna Sharif caught by Lin Lin Tun to reduce Kuwait to 14 for one in the sixth over.
Yet, it was Zon Lin who starred for Myanmar, finishing with figures of 4-7 in her four overs. A hallmark of her spell was her accuracy. She bowled Zeefa Jilani, Khadija Khalil, and Shanti Balasubraniam to scythe through Kuwait’s batting lineup.
In spite of Kuwait not managing a single boundary during their innings, Maryam Omar held strong, scoring a quick 25 off 27 balls to set Myanmar a target of 86.
Myanmar was in early trouble, getting reduced to 25 for four in their first nine overs. Left-arm spinner Mariamma Hyder was once again the destroyer-in-chief, taking a return catch to dismiss Lin Lin Tun for a duck before trapping Theine Theine Soe in front for 4.
Zin Tharaphy Kyaw brought Myanmar back into the game, striking two boundaries in a knock of 30 off 31 balls. Needing 25 runs to win off the last three overs, Myanmar was aided by three no-balls during the 18th over bowled by Priyada Murali.
However, Maria Jasvi would fight back in the next over, conceding just one run to go with the run out of Kyaw. With 11 runs required off the last six balls, Murali made amends, conceding just three runs to close out a thrilling win for her team.
Brief Scores:
Kuwait 85/5 in 20 Overs (Omar 25*, Zon Lin 4-7) beat Myanmar 78/8 in 20 Overs (Kyaw 30, Hyder 2-10, Murali 2-25) by 7 Runs
