Spain Women continued their impressive run in the Women’s T20 Quadrangular Series in Switzerland with a commanding eight-wicket victory over Switzerland Women at the Embrach Cricket Ground. Chasing a competitive target of 190, the Spanish batters produced a fearless display, anchored by an unbeaten century partnership between Hillman-Bermejo and Amy Brown-Carrera, to overhaul the target with 14 balls to spare. The result highlighted Spain Women’s batting depth after Switzerland Women had earlier posted a challenging 189/5 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to a magnificent knock from Meghna Rajan. The Women’s T20 Quadrangular Series once again delivered an entertaining contest, with both teams showcasing aggressive batting and moments of quality bowling.
Switzerland Women were invited to bat first after Spain Women won the toss and elected to field. The innings did not begin ideally as Laila Pickard managed 9 off 15 deliveries before becoming the first wicket to fall at 23, caught by Katerina Frost off Deepa Chukkapalli-Llinares. Amrita Sasidharan looked positive during her stay, striking two boundaries in her run-a-ball 12, but she was run out through an excellent effort from Amelia Jones, leaving Switzerland at 38/2. Despite the early setbacks, Meghna Rajan walked in with confidence and completely shifted the momentum in Switzerland’s favour.
Meghna Rajan produced one of the finest innings of the tournament, smashing 95 off just 58 deliveries with an outstanding 16 fours at a strike rate of 163.79. She found excellent support from Vani Dhanuka, who contributed a fluent 33 from 26 balls, including five boundaries. The pair stitched together a brilliant 117-run partnership for the third wicket, rescuing Switzerland from early trouble and putting immense pressure on the Spanish bowling attack. Their partnership featured clean strokeplay, intelligent running between the wickets and relentless boundary-hitting, taking Switzerland into a commanding position. Rajan eventually fell just five runs short of a deserved century when she was caught by captain Alexis Hartley off Hillman-Bermejo. Shortly afterwards, Vani Dhanuka also departed after being caught by Amelia Jones off the same bowler, reducing Switzerland to 155/3.
Danashi Medagoda remained unbeaten on 11 from nine deliveries and tried to provide a strong finish, while Melissa Pienaar was run out for a duck by the combination of Amelia Jones and Alexis Hartley. Switzerland also benefited from 29 extras, including 15 wides, helping them finish on a formidable 189/5 in 20 overs. For Spain Women, Hillman-Bermejo was the standout bowler with figures of 1/30 in four overs. Deepa Chukkapalli-Llinares claimed the opening breakthrough with 1/21 from four overs, while Uswa Syed bowled an economical spell of 3 overs for 20 runs. Olivia Gwilliam Lopez, Katerina Frost, Rabia Mushtaq, Alexis Hartley and Payal Chilongia all chipped in with overs, although the Swiss batters scored freely against them during the latter half of the innings.
Facing a daunting chase of 190, Spain Women started aggressively through skipper Alexis Hartley. She attacked from the outset, scoring 16 off only 11 deliveries with two boundaries before being caught by Divya off Vani Dhanuka. Deepa Chukkapalli-Llinares struggled to get going and managed just one run from six balls before Laila Pickard held a catch to give Vani Dhanuka her second wicket. Spain found themselves at 29/2, still needing another 161 runs, with Switzerland sensing an opportunity to seal the contest.
However, what followed completely turned the game around. Hillman-Bermejo and Amy Brown-Carrera produced a sensational unbeaten 161-run partnership for the third wicket that dismantled the Swiss bowling attack. Hillman-Bermejo led the charge with a breathtaking unbeaten 85 from just 47 balls, smashing 13 boundaries at a strike rate of 180.85. At the other end, Amy Brown-Carrera matched her partner stroke for stroke, remaining unbeaten on 73 from only 43 deliveries, including 12 fours at a strike rate of 169.76. Their partnership combined controlled aggression with excellent placement, ensuring Spain never lost momentum despite the required run rate remaining high. The pair comfortably guided Spain to 190/2 in just 17.4 overs, sealing a memorable eight-wicket victory with 14 balls remaining.
Switzerland’s bowlers had enjoyed early success through Vani Dhanuka, who finished with 2/33 in 3.4 overs after removing both openers. Meghna Rajan bowled four overs for 41 runs without success, while captain Danashi Medagoda conceded 16 runs in her solitary over. Naina Metty Saju returned figures of 0/40 from three overs, Sejal Vinod gave away 37 runs across four overs, and Natalie Clarke finished with 0/21 from two overs. Despite the strong total on the board, the Swiss bowling unit had no answer to Spain’s record-breaking third-wicket stand.
The Spain Women vs Switzerland Women clash in the Women’s T20 Quadrangular Series proved to be a perfect showcase of attacking cricket. Meghna Rajan’s superb 95 and her crucial 117-run stand with Vani Dhanuka laid the foundation for Switzerland’s competitive 189/5, but Spain Women responded with even greater authority. The unbeaten 161-run partnership between Hillman-Bermejo and Amy Brown-Carrera turned the contest decisively in Spain’s favour, completing one of the tournament’s finest successful run chases. With this comprehensive eight-wicket triumph, Spain Women strengthened their campaign, while Switzerland Women were left to reflect on missed opportunities despite an exceptional batting effort led by Rajan.
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