Vanuatu victory highlights thrilling opening day at Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier

Vanuatu's stirring display against Zimbabwe was the highlight of day one of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2024 in Abu Dhabi. Bowling Zimbabwe out for 61, Vanuatu sealed a brilliant win to star their tournament with a bang.

Meanwhile, Scotland blanked Uganda by 109 runs in the other match of the night.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon games, Eimear Richardson starred with an all-round performance for Ireland in their win over UAE while Sri Lanka’s bowlers shone as they bowled Thailand out for 55 at the Tolerance Oval.

Zimbabwe 61 (13.3 overs) lost to Vanuatu 62/4 (16.3 overs)

Toss: Zimbabwe opt to bat first

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Zimbabwe’s decision to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi backfired as Vanuatu produced a stirring bowling performance to bowl them out for 61 inside 13.3 overs.

Vanuatu struck early in the Powerplay with new ball bowlers Rachel Andrew and Vanessa Vira taking three of the four wickets to fall.

Zimbabwe’s attempts to salvage the innings fell flat as Vanuatu kept striking at regular intervals. Leg-spinner Nasimana Navaika ran through the middle-order to snare four wickets for 13 runs as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 61, their lowest-ever women’s T20I total.

Navaika (4/13) and Vira (3/14) were the pick of Vanuatu’s bowlers.

Navaika also played a crucial role in the run-chase, walking in at No.3 and making 21 off 36 balls to marshall the run-chase.

While Zimbabwe had their moments with the ball, picking up two early wickets with the ball, they did not have the runs on the board to apply pressure on a determined Vanuatu side.

Scotland 161/3 (20 overs) beat Uganda 52 (12.2 overs) by 109 runs

Toss: Uganda opt to bowl first

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Despite a duck for skipper Kathryn Bryce, Scotland put up a good total at the Tolerance Oval powered by unbeaten half-centuries from Saskia Horley and Ailsa Lister.

Asked to bat first, Scotland lost Darcey Carter and Bryce off successive deliveries in the final over of the Powerplay.

Sarah Akiteng cleaned up Carter while Bryce was run out after facing a ball. Despite the double blow, Scotland made a good recovery with opener Horley and Sarah Bryce putting up a good stand.

Immaculate Nakisuuyi broke the stand with the wicket of Bryce, but Lister came out all guns blazing to push Uganda onto the back-foot.

With Horley her end stable, Lister went on the charge to finish on 55 not out off just 34 balls. The unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 95 runs came off just 9.5 overs and helped Scotland finish on 161.

In response, left-arm quick Rachel Slater took three quick wickets to reduce Uganda to 30/5 in 6.1 overs.

None of the top five batters managed to make double digits as Scotland took complete control of the game.

Slater added two more in her next over to complete a five-wicket haul as Uganda slumped to 35/7. Abtaha Maqsood wrapped up the tail with three wickets as Uganda were bowled out for 52.

UAE 105/9 (20 overs) lost to Ireland 106/4 (16.1 overs)

Toss: Ireland opt to bowl first

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Esha Oza got UAE off to a flier with an onslaught on Alana Dalzell in the second over of the game, but the bowler had the last laugh when she sent the opener back off the final ball of the over.

Theertha Satish and Khushi Sharma rebuilt for UAE with a solid partnership that came at a pretty good rate, but Ireland launched a spirited comeback into the game that saw the UAE innings unravel pretty quickly.

From 64/1, UAE slipped to 77/7 in the space of five overs as Arlene Kelly, Cara Murray and Richardson shared the spoils. The talented Kavisha Egodage was run out to add to UAE’s woes.

The lower order couldn’t muster much of a fight as UAE finished on 105/9 in 20 overs despite the promising start they had to the innings.

Kelly and Richardson shared two wickets apiece and were the pick of Ireland’s bowlers.

In response, Ireland raced off the blocks with Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis in great touch. The duo smashed 52 in the Powerplay before Lewis fell off the final ball of the sixth over, edging Egodage to the wicketkeeper for a 22-ball 27.

Oza struck in successive overs with the big wickets of Laura Delany and Rebecca Stokell as Ireland stumbled to 68/4. 

Orla Prendergast found able support from Richardson and Ireland kept the innings stable. The duo remained unbeaten and wiped off the target with more than three overs to spare as Ireland got their campaign off to a winning start.

Sri Lanka 122/5 (20 overs) beat Thailand 55 (16.2 overs)

Toss: Sri Lanka opt to bat first

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A disciplined bowling performance from Thailand restricted one of the favourites in the tournament, Sri Lanka, to 122/5 in 20 overs at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a slow start in the Powerplay with Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne taking their time to settle in. 

Chanida Sutthiruang sent back Gunaratne for 13 inside the Powerplay, but the big blow came right after the restrictions when the skipper Athapaththu was run out by a brilliant bit of fielding. 

Hasini Perera dropped anchor at one end, but Thailand managed to find a couple of breakthroughs from the other end to keep the scoring rate under control. Eventually, Perera too was trapped in front by Sunida Chaturongrattana for 29 and Sri Lanka had slipped to a precarious 78/5 with just over five overs remaining in the innings.

Nilakshi de Silva and Anushka Sanjeewani joined hands in a crucial stand that drove Sri Lanka out of the woods. De Silva finished on an unbeaten 20-ball 29 while Anushka made 13 off 15 as Sri Lanka finished on 122/5.

In response, Udeshika Prabodhani and Inoshi Priyadharshani led Sri Lanka’s bowling effort with only one batter making double digits. 

While Thailand got off to a decent start with 29 runs on the board in the Powerplay for the loss of one, wickets tumbled soon after as Sri Lanka displayed their strength with the ball.

Prabhodhani, Kavisha Dilhari and Achini Kulasuriya helped Sri Lanka reduce Thailand to 40/5. Things went downhill for Thailand as three wickets fell in the 14th over bowled by Priyadharshani. 

They slipped to 45/8 and were eventually bowled out for 55 with Athapaththu wrapping up the innings with the final wicket.

Priyadharshani starred with 3 for 14 in her four overs while Prabodhani took 2 for 10 in her three overs.