Bangladesh women and Ireland women came out with flying colours in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers as they sealed the remaining two slots in the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa. The two teams won their respective semi-final clashes in Abu Dhabi on Friday and will take each other on in the final on Sunday.
Ireland had a close shave with Zimbabwe, managing to win by four runs. Orla Prendergast was the top scorer for them with 28 off 25, batting at number three, while captain Laura Delany scored 22 runs. Rebecca Stokell was the real star with the bat as she blasted 26 not-out in just 12 balls to push the score to 137/6.
Jane Maguire landed two early blows to Zimbabwe before Sharne Mayers scored 39 off 36 and put on a 50-run stand with the skipper Mary-Anne Musonda.
Zimbabwe then lost a few wickets in quick succession, including Musonda, who scored 31 off 29. Josephine Nkomo fought at the end, but 30 required off the last three overs turned into 15 off the final over, and Delany held her nerves to defend the total for Ireland.
Bangladesh, who topped Group A with three out of three wins, met Thailand women in the second semi-final. Run-scoring wasn’t easy as Bangladesh batters struggled to score swiftly. Their openers added 34 runs in 6.5 overs.
Murshida Khatun scored 26 runs, but it took her 35 balls, while captain Nigar Sultana managed 17 off 24. Rumana Ahmed made 28 off 24, with Ritu Moni stroking 10-ball 17 to take the total to 113/5.
Bangladesh bowlers were spot on while defending the target as they made a small total look like a mountain. Natthakan Chantham was a thorn in their flesh as she almost batted through and scored 64 off 51.
Needing 51 off the final three overs, she belted a couple of sixes in the 18th over to give some hopes to her side. But the equation soon became 22 off 6 balls, which proved too much for Thailand batters.
Sanjida Akter Meghla snared 2 for just 7 runs in four overs, while Salma Khatun bagged 3 for 17 in her four as they restricted Thailand to 102/6.
