Unbeaten Sri Lanka, Ireland set their eyes on Women’s T20 World Cup 2024

The finalists after the two semi-final games on Sunday, 5 May, will head to Bangladesh for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 later this year. 

While Sri Lanka and Ireland booked their semi-final spots with a near-flawless performance in the Group stages, Scotland lost a game to Sri Lanka and only qualified on the final day thanks to a six-wicket win over Thailand.

Group B had more drama with UAE just about edging Netherlands for the final semi-final spot with their earlier ten-wicket win over the Dutch proving to be crucial.

On the final day of the Group games, UAE beat Vanuatu by 70 runs to boost their net run rate. Meanwhile, Netherlands lost to Ireland and despite being level on points with UAE, missed out on a place in the semi-finals.

Scotland, UAE grab last two Qualifier semi-final spots

Ireland v Scotland, Semi-final 1

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Ireland boast of a strong head-to-head record against Scotland with nine wins in 13 games. Notably, though, the last time these two teams met, Scotland registered a comprehensive win over Ireland with the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah, shining.

Ireland have been in ruthless form in the Qualifiers, winning by big margins. They have excelled at both setting targets and chasing them down with two wins apiece.

In great news for Ireland, Orla Prendergast and Laura Delany shone with contributions in their final Group clash against Netherlands. Prendergast and Delany took three wickets apiece to bowl the Netherlands out for 90. Earlier in the game, Delany also starred with a 70 from 45 balls.

Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis have also been in red hot form for them, with three fifty-plus run partnerships in the four games, each of them coming at frenetic pace.

Scotland, on the other hand, have thrived on good bowling performances in the tournament. They have taken 23 wickets in the four games and only once in their three wins did a team manage to cross the 100-run mark.

Kathryn Bryce, Rachel Slater and Abtaha Maqsood have been the pick of their bowlers in this tournament and the three will need to step up again if they are to stop an in-form Ireland batting unit. 

"I think Scotland are heavily dependent on their captain, Kathryn Bryce," former Pakistan skipper Sana Mir told ICC ahead of the semi-finals. 

"I think she has been splendid for them, but when you look at Ireland, it's a complete unit. The openers are performing, the middle-order performed under pressure yesterday [against Netherlands], and now with Orla Prendergast with the ball, their bowling unit looks pretty amazing.

"Definitely for me, Ireland are favourites going into this game, but it's T20 cricket, we don't know what's in store for us," Mir added.

Former Irish skipper Isobel Joyce highlighted that Ireland will be under pressure because they have consistently made the big tournaments. 

But she pointed out that Scotland was one of the teams that also stood out for her. 

"[Scotland are] a team that has constantly been at this level, and never made it through," Joyce told ICC.

"They've added a few different elements to their line-up in terms of batting and bowling to give them a really good chance against Ireland in the semi-final."

Sri Lanka v UAE, Semi-final 2

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Sri Lanka, the tournament favourites, have lived up to their reputation so far with four wins out of four and should be backing themselves to beat UAE and end up in Bangladesh for the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year. 

Like with Scotland, Sri Lanka have been cruising courtesy of some brilliant bowling performances, notably from their spinners. 

With Kavisha Dilhari, Inoka Ranaweera and Inoshi Priyadharshani, Sri Lanka have pushed teams onto the backfoot through the middle overs, slowing up the scoring rate and picking up crucial wickets.

Only one team managed to register a triple-digit total against them in the Group stage and Sri Lanka will once again hope their bowlers deliver the goods against UAE. 

UAE have faced Sri Lanka just once, back in 2022, when spinners Dilhari, Ranaweera and Sugandika Kumari shared all seven wickets to fall between them. 

Sri Lanka haven’t quite managed to put up strong totals in the four games in the tournament so far. Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne are the only two batters to make over 100 runs in the tournament for them so far.

UAE’s opportunity lies in keeping the Sri Lankan batters quiet in the first innings before turning to their own batters, who have impressed in parts in this tournament.

Openers Esha Oza and Theertha Satish have put on 182 runs as a pair, scoring at a rate of over eight runs per over.

In the last two games of the Group stage, both of which UAE won, the duo’s opening stand set the tone for their team. Against Netherlands, Oza and Satish starred with an unbeaten century stand to take UAE home. Against Vanuatu, they put on 44 in the first six overs to help UAE to a strong total.

"One of the moments of the tournament for me was Esha Oza, as the captain of the UAE side, who were down with two losses, playing the way she did against Netherlands," Mir said.

"The way she struck the ball in that 60-odd knock and later, making sure UAE reached their first semi-final, I think that was a big moment in the competition."

With the ball, Samaira Dharnidharka has been the star for them with seven wickets. However, no other UAE bowler has over five wickets in the tournament. Oza, the second-highest wicket-taker for UAE, has four scalps. Leg-spinner Vaishnave Mahesh has only two wickets in four games, but has stood out with her economy rate of 5.81. 

If UAE manage to pull a surprise over Sri Lanka, it would be their first appearance at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

"I've really been impressed by UAE in this tournament," Joyce said.

"They've shown real fight. They've got a young team, and they've had to really fight to get through to the semi-final, where they take on Sri Lanka. They've got some exciting young players in their team and the experience they've gained throughout the Group stages and whatever happens in the semi-final, that'll stay with the group of teenagers that'll go from strength to strength."