The third fixture of the Czech Republic Women’s T20I Tri-Series 2026 at Scott Page Field in Vinor witnessed an intriguing battle between hosts Czech Republic Women and Belgium Women.
Batting first after the coin toss, Czech Republic’s innings suffered an early blow when opener Erika Kuncova was run out for a duck off the very first ball of the match following sharp fielding from Rithika Rajesh and wicketkeeper Shamma Diwan Ali (1-2, 0.1 ov). Opening partner Katerina Tesarikova added 4 runs off 4 balls before falling caught and bowled to Rithika Rajesh (2-11, 1.3 ov).
Rebuilding the innings, Rachel Pavlickova and Zuzana Franova stitched together a vital 43-run stand for the third wicket. Franova played a crisp cameo of 21 off 15 balls, striking 3 boundaries before being caught behind off Shweta Sinha (3-54, 6.3 ov). Captain Sowjanya Talamarla briefly joined Pavlickova but was bowled by Sinha for 3 off 6 balls (4-68, 8.4 ov). Pavlickova’s steady stay of 26 off 34 balls ended when Attia Diwan Ali shattered her stumps (5-72, 9.4 ov).
Belgium continued to restrict the scoring as Josephine Souckova (2 off 7 balls) fell caught and bowled to Sinha (6-79, 10.6 ov), and Player of the Match Viola Komeda (12 off 21 balls) was bowled by Rithika Rajesh (7-109, 15.2 ov). An unbroken 31-run partnership between Pratibha Choudhary (10* off 27 balls) and Desika Marikova-Moodley (11* off 19 balls) steered the host nation through the death overs.
Aided by a staggering 51 extras conceded by Belgium’s bowling attack, Czech Republic Women pushed their total to 140/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Among Belgium’s bowlers, Shweta Sinha stood out with figures of 3 for 29 in 4 overs, supported by Rithika Rajesh (2/25 in 4 ov) and Attia Diwan Ali (1/6 in 1 ov). Arussa Ilahi (0/19 in 4 ov), Peher Modi (0/29 in 3 ov), Beatrice Pierre (0/15 in 2 ov), and Payal Kothar (0/14 in 2 ov) went wicketless.
Chasing a target of 141, Belgium’s reply got off to a disastrous start as direct-hits and disciplined bowling decimated their top order early. Beatrice Pierre was run out by Josephine Souckova for a duck (1-1, 0.5 ov), and Arussa Ilahi fell lbw to Desika Marikova-Moodley for 4 off 3 balls (2-7, 1.6 ov). Captain Alix Brodin was caught off Sowjanya Talamarla for 2 off 2 balls (3-11, 2.4 ov), before Peher Modi was run out by Souckova for a 5-ball duck (4-15, 3.6 ov).
Opener Shweta Sinha attempted to hold the middle order together with a top-scoring 17 off 26 balls. She built a 27-run stand with Sruthi Yenamandra (8 off 19 balls) before Viola Komeda bowled Yenamandra (5-42, 9.2 ov) and had Sinha caught by Tesarikova shortly after (6-49, 11.1 ov). Komeda added a third scalp by bowling Payal Kothar for 3 off 18 balls (7-60, 13.4 ov).
Attia Diwan Ali (5 off 6 balls) fell lbw to Erika Kuncova (8-72, 15.2 ov), while Shabana Ilahi contributed 13 off 20 balls before being bowled by Rachel Pavlickova (9-85, 18.2 ov). Wicketkeeper Shamma Diwan Ali (4* off 15 balls) and Rithika Rajesh (1* off 5 balls) batted out the final overs. Boosted by 35 extras, Belgium Women finished their 20 overs at 92/9, falling short by 48 runs.
The Czech bowling performance was clinical and highly disciplined across the board: Viola Komeda led with 3 for 20 in 4 overs, while Erika Kuncova (1/13 in 4 ov), Sowjanya Talamarla (1/15 in 4 ov), Desika Marikova-Moodley (1/18 in 4 ov), and Rachel Pavlickova (1/20 in 4 ov) all picked up a wicket each to secure a commanding victory for the hosts.
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