ABU DHABI – Regardless of a wonderful fielding and disciplined bowling show, Eire Girls fell seven runs quick within the run-chase towards Bangladesh in the Ultimate of the ICC Girls’s T20 World Cup Qualifier event on the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Either side had already certified for the 2023 ICC Girls’s T20 World Cup in South Africa courtesy of their semi-final wins, however the Ultimate lacked no drop in depth because the groups battled for the trophy.
Eire had set the match up nicely after being requested to bowl first – captain Laura Delany (3-27), Cara Murray (2-21) and Arlene Kelly (2-17) have been the choose of the bowlers, whereas within the discipline it was evident the Irish facet have been on the highest of their sport for the Ultimate, holding on to a sequence of adverse catches – and Mary Waldron as soon as extra displayed fast fingers in a stumping off Kelly that noticed the skilled keeper pull in a large ball and rapidly take away the bails earlier than the batter was protected.
Throughout the match, Delany turned solely the second Irishwoman to declare 50 T20 Worldwide wickets – behind her teammate Eimear Richardson.
After successful the toss, the Bangladesh openers began cautiously with two runs from the primary 10 balls, however quickly after it was the skilled Fargana Hoque Pinky who started to seek out the boundary. Hoque struck seven boundaries in an innings of 61 from 55 balls, anchoring the innings till she was dismissed within the 17th over.
Whereas Bangladesh held loads of wickets in hand for a lot of their innings, the Irish bowlers by no means launched the strain on the soring charge that they constructed up early. Murshida Khatun (6) and Niger Sultana Joty (6) performed assist roles for Hoque – and when Joty fell within the 10th over, the Bangladesh rating was a pedestrian-looking 47-2.
Rumana Ahmed then joined Hoque and the pair placed on a 49-run third wicket partnership off simply 37 balls, a partnership that was damaged when Ahmed skied a ball off Murray and was caught safely by Waldron. Hoque adopted shortly after, and Eire sensed a gap. The Irish bowlers stored their line primarily wicket-to-wicket and completed a lot the stronger facet with the final 25 balls producing six wickets for simply 24 runs – Delany’s final over completed with a exceptional 3-3. Bangladesh completed their 20 overs on 120-8 and requiring an impressed bowling efficiency to defend a complete that seemed 10-15 runs under par.
Sensing pace-off on a gradual pitch underneath lights was the perfect strategy, Bangladesh bowled spin for all 20 overs of the Irish reply. From the second opener Gaby Lewis (4) was deceived by left-arm off-spinner Shanjida Maghla within the second over – bowled by the gate – the Irish batters not often seemed settled. Delany (12 from 22 balls) and Eimear Richardson (18 from 15 balls) gave Irish followers a quick sense of hope with a counter-attacking 23-run stand for the fourth wicket, however the common fall of wickets proved deadly ultimately.
At 58-7 within the 13th over, Waldron (19 off 17 balls), a composed Kelly (28* off 24 balls) and Murray (13 from 10 balls) performed spectacular cameos, however the lack of wickets readily available was a difficult prospect to a lower-order battling arduous towards a mounting run charge. Ultimately Eire completed a heart-breaking seven runs quick.
Throughout the post-match interview, Delany praised the bowling effort on the prime by her bowlers however indicated that lack of partnerships with the bat hampered the run chase. Requested in regards to the crew’s total event efficiency, Delany mentioned the squad was happy, had achieve nice expertise and that their fielding was an space that they had focused and felt had developed nicely over the event.
The ICC Girls’s T20 World Cup will likely be held in February 2023 – the primary world cup Eire has certified for for the reason that 2018 Girls’s T20 World Cup.
MATCH SUMMARY
Bangladesh v Eire, T20 World Cup Qualifier Ultimate, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, 25 September 2022
Bangladesh 120-8 (20 overs; Hoque Pinky 61, R Ahmed 21; L Delany 3-27)
Eire 113-9 (20 overs; A Kelly 28*, M Waldron 19; R Ahmed 3-24)
Bangladesh gained by 7 runs
