As the world of cricket never stops racing, the focus shifted from franchise cricket to international domain as curtains were taken off the Women’s T20 Quadrangular series in Uganda, which features four teams – Uganda, Namibia, Nepal and Hong Kong. The contests in this series promise to be thrilling as teams battle for ascendancy in the shortest format of the game. With emerging talents and seasoned players in action, the series serves as a crucial platform for associate yet blooming nations to make a mark in the game of cricket.
Uganda breeze past Hong Kong in series opener
Hosts Uganda elected to bowl first after winning the toss in the series’ opener. The bowlers bowled sensationally well to limit Hong Kong to a modest score of 75/4 at the end of 20 overs. Captain and opening batter Natasha Miles battled hard for her 30 from 47 deliveries, but with a slow strike rate, she could not find much support from the rest of the line-up.
Mariko Hill and Kary Chan scored only 10 runs each, as not a single batter was able to score at more than a strike rate of 90. Uganda’s Immaculate Nakisuuyi was the game-changer with the ball, taking two wickets while giving only 11 runs in her four-over spell, piling pressure on Hong Kong throughout the inning.
Drawing attention to the chase, Uganda made light work of the sizable target, comfortably sealing the victory in the 18th over with eight wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare. Immaculate Nakisuuyi, who shone with both bat and ball, anchored the innings with a steady 26 off 35 balls, earning her the Player of the Match award.
Malisa Ariokot and Prosscovia Alako ensured there were no further hiccups, remaining unbeaten on 17 and 15, respectively. For Hong Kong, Betty Chan was the only silver lining in the bowling lineup, picking up a wicket while maintaining a respectable economy of 6, but her efforts were not enough to halt Uganda’s dominant performance as the underwhelming total was too less to be defended.
Namibia wins rain-affected thriller over Nepal
On the opening day, in match no. 2 between Nepal and Namibia, rain marred the proceedings of the match, but it turned out to be a nail-biting contest where Namibia achieved a win on the second last delivery of the stipulated match frame.
Having decided to bat first, Nepal suffered a difficult stint as their top order did not get enough runs, ultimately zipping up on a modest score of 92. Opener Samjhana Khadka gave some fight, top scoring with 18, but wickets continued to fall at frequent intervals, not allowing any big partnership to get underway. Nepal’s struggles deepened as three batters were dismissed for a duck, further diminishing their hopes of setting a competitive total.
Just when a collapse seemed inevitable, Ishwori Bist provided a late spark with a crucial cameo, scoring 17* off 14 balls to add some respectability to the innings. However, Namibia’s disciplined bowling attack never allowed Nepal to settle, with Namibia’s Wilka Mwatile (3/17) and Mekelaye Mwatile (3/12) leading the charge.
Arriving on the chase, rain interruptions cut the game to DLS calculations, leaving Namibia with a new target of 71 runs in 15 overs. Barring the loss of time, the game still turned out to be a nerve-wracking encounter. Mekelaye Mwatile anchored the chase with a well-compiled 26 runs, but Namibia still found themselves in a tricky situation as the equation boiled down to the final over. With 10 runs needed off the last six balls, the pressure was on both sides.
Right-arm medium bowler Puja Mahato was given the onus of defending the target, but the game turned in the next instant when she was hit for a boundary off the first ball. Jurriene Diergaardt (13*) batted responsibility, remaining calm during the tense moments to hit 10 runs off the last five balls to secure a memorable win for Namibia off the penultimate bowl.
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