Bangladesh ended their fairytale World Cup campaign on a high as they comprehensively defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final match of the Group 1 Super Six stage at North-West University No. 1 Ground at Potchefstroom. The UAE had won the toss and decided to bat first.
Saddled with the loss of their skipper Theertha Satish early on for a run a ball 4, Samiara Dharnidharka also fell prey for a two-ball duck in the same over to Marufa Akter who was on a roll. Lavanya Keny and Mahika Gaur who were at the crease tried building a partnership but the strike rate of below 70 was dismal from both batters. Reya Akter Shika struck to dismiss Gaur for 17 and the untimely run out of Ishitha Zehra for 0 off four balls meant UAE was four wickets down.
Vaishanve Mahesh’s laboured 7 off 21 was another setback and the set Keny’s dismissal for 29 had UAE on their knees, 62/6 at the 17 over mark. Three more wickets fell in quick succession as Archara Supriya was dismissed for 1 and with Avanee Patil and Siya Gokhale falling for 1 and 3 respectively, Sanjana Ramesh and Indhuja Nandakumar finished unbeaten as UAE posted a paltry 69/9. Rabeya Khan was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets and Marufa Akter scalped 2 wickets besides Dipa Khatun, Reya Akter Shika and Shorna Akter chipped in with one wicket each helped Bangladesh massively to restrict UAE.
Bangladesh’s run-chase was not without its own set of ups and downs. Misty Shaha was the first to be dismissed for 1 and Afia Prottasha’s 15 was also brought to an end by Indhuja Nandakumar. With Sumaiya Akter getting dismissed for a three-ball duck as Gaur struck, Bangladesh suddenly found themselves in the trenches. However, Shorna Akter’s brilliant knock of 38 off 19 coupled with Rabeya Khan’s 14 in spite of their dismissals put Bangladesh in a comfortable position and as Unnoti Akter’s 5 coupled with boundary sealed the deal in 9.1 overs. Indhuja Nandakumar and Samaira Dharnidharka’s two wickets each helped put brakes on Bangladesh but considering the total was well within reach, it never threatened Bangladesh.
Easy chase for Bangladesh U19 girls, thanks to Shorna Akter’s 39 in just 18 Balls
They beat UAE U19 by 5 Wickets.#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/MJWRcg91GU
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 25, 2023
Brief Scores: UAE- 69/9 (L Keny 29, M Gaur 17; R Khan 3/14, M Akter 2/16) lost to BAN- 73/5 (S Akter 38, A Prottasha 15; S Dharnidharka 2/18, I Nandakumar 2/34) by 5 wickets and with 65 balls to spare.
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.