Scotland ended their World Cup campaign on a high after they comfortably chase down a massive total in the 1st Playoff Match in Benoni. The context for both the teams leading up to this match is that they lost all their games in the group stage matches and were playing for pride to end their campaigns on a memorable note. The USA won the toss and decided to bat first.
The USA had a strong outing with the bat when compared to their past performances. The talented duo of Disha Dhingra and Laasya Mullapudi put on a solid start and built on a platform doing the bulk of scoring runs. As Dhingra was taking time to score, Mullpudi was striking more freely hitting over eight boundaries and striking at 130.30. It was only after their dismissals in the 10th and 11th over respectively that the batting hit a plateau as Isani Vaghela and Tya Gonsalves were dismissed without affecting the scorecard much for 2 and 7 respectively. However, the fresh and free-flowing approach by Ritu Singh and Geetika Kodali who have so far had very lean World Cups was impressive to see as they scored 22 and 13 at admirable strike rates and the late flourish by Snigdha Paul for 8 ensured the USA ended up with a competitive 157/7. Katherine Fraser for her 3/23 was the pick of the bowlers for Scotland.
🚨FIFTY🚨
Katherine Fraser scores a calm and composed half-century from 42 balls.
🏴Scotland: 128 -3 (17.3)#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/xWBb3uRVXA
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 20, 2023
Scotland lost Ailsa Lister early on in the chase for 9 and although Darcey Carter and Emma Walsingham were good with their knocks of 15 and 26, Scotland still needed some firepower. That’s when Katherine Fraser, the skipper stood up and delivered a brilliant 59 off 47 that lent a lot of balance to the chase. Emily Tucker added the finishing touches as she piled on a crucial 15 and the unbeaten 7 by Molly Pation ensured Scotland was on the winning side in this close match. The 15 extras by the US also did not help the cause. Aditi Chudasama shone with the ball for the USA and was supported by Ritu Singh, Bhumika Bhadriraju and Geetika Kodali who chipped in with a wicket as well.
Katherine Fraser for her phenomenal all-round performance was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’.
🏴Scotland U19 won by 5 wickets
🇺🇸 USA U19: 147-7 (20)
Disha Dhingra: 30 (33)
Laasya Mullapudi: 43 (33)
Katherine Fraser 3-23🏴Scotland U19: 148-5 (19.4)
Katherine Fraser: 59 (47)
Emma Walsingham: 27 (26)
Aditi Chudasama 2-20#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/hmoFAxTr43— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 20, 2023
Brief Scores: USA- 147/7 in 20 overs (L Mullapudi 43, D Dhingra 30; K Fraser 3/23) lost to SCO- 148/5 in 19.4 overs (K Fraser 59, E Walsingham 27; A Chudasama 2/20) by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.