Malaysia no match for clinical Thailand

An excellent performance on the field set up a straightforward nine-wicket win for Thailand over Malaysia in their Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup match in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 6 June.

Batting first after winning the toss, Malaysia, who had lost their first two games to India and Sri Lanka respectively, lasted their 20 overs but managed to put up just 36/8.

The innings progressed at 1.8 runs per over, and none of the batters went into double-digits, with Sasha Azmi’s 9* from No.8 the highest score of the innings. Interestingly, Azmi hit the only boundary of the innings too.

Wickets started falling early, with Yusrina Yaakop dismissed lbw by Chanida Sutthiruang, the medium pacer, off the first ball of the innings. It never looked up for Malaysia, who had been bowled out for a similarly poor 27 by India in their first game but showed some improvement in getting to 46/7 against Sri Lanka in their last match.

The wickets were shared between five Thailand bowlers, Wongpaka Liengprasert, the off-spinner, the most successful with 2/10.

The chase should have been a simple one and it was even though Azmi struck in the fourth over to send back Nattakan Chantam lbw. But with not too much pressure on them, Naruemol Chaiwai (20*) and Sirintra Saengsakaorat (8*) took Thailand to 37/1 in just nine overs.

The win gave Thailand their first points after losses to Pakistan and India earlier in the tournament, while Malaysia, the hosts, remained at the bottom. Malaysia next play Pakistan, while Thailand square off against Bangladesh, both games scheduled for Thursday.