Tag: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

GQEBERHA: Indian opener Smriti Mandhana’s career-best 87 powered India to edge Ireland by a mere five runs in the rain-affected clash and into the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

India’s qualification to the semi-finals marked the end of Pakistan’s journey, who take England tomorrow in a dead rubber.

After opting to bat first, India piled a mammoth 155/6 in their set of 20 overs at the back of an astounding 56-ball 87 by Mandhana.

Earlier, Indian openers Mandhana and Shafali Verma scripted a solid start for their side as they raised 62 runs within 10 overs before the latter perished after scoring a cautious 29-ball 24.

Mandhana stood firm and stitched another vital partnership for her side with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who managed to score 13 off 20 before falling off Laura Delany in the 16th over.

Kaur’s dismissal triggered a collapse as Indian batters made desperate efforts to score big with their star batter Mandhana also falling after her career-best knock while India, consequently finished at 155/6.

Mandhana top-scored for her side with 87 off 56 deliveries with the help of nine boundaries and three sixes.

Delany led the bowling attack for Ireland with 3/33 while Orla Prendergast returned with 2/22.

Set to chase 156, Ireland could only bat for a mere 50 deliveries and scored 54/2, five runs behind the DLS par-score of 59 before the rain played spoilsport.

Irish opener Gaby Lewis remained unbeaten with a brisk 25-ball 32 and saw her efforts going in vain as India sealed a narrow victory that powered them into the semi-finals.

For India, only Renuka Singh could pick up a wicket.

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PAARL: All-rounder Aliya Riaz’s fighting 29-run knock went in vain as Hayley Matthews-led West Indies edged Pakistan by a mere three runs in the low-scoring thriller in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Set to chase 117, Pakistan fell three runs short as the green shirts could amass 113/5 in the allotted overs despite Aliya’s fighting 29.

The green shirts were off to a dismal start to the run chase as the side lost both openers – Muneeba Ali and Sidra Ameen – for a mere 15 runs in the third over.

Following the slump, skipper Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar attempted to anchor the run chase with a crucial third-wicket partnership that saw the pair adding 44 runs.

The duo of Bismah and Dar, however, remained a touch too slow amid the crucial stand as they conceded 53 deliveries Afy Fletcher dismissed Dar, who could score 27 off 31 deliveries and hit a boundary.

Bismah then put on yet another crucial partnership for her side as she added 30 runs with Aliya before perishing in the 18th over after scoring 26 off 33 deliveries.

Skipper Bisma’s dismissal put Aliya under immense pressure, who had to bat with tailender Fatima Sana when the side needed 18 off the final over.

Aliya, however, kept Pakistan’s hopes alive with three boundaries in the over but her dismissal on the fifth delivery powered West Indies to run away with a narrow three-run triumph.

The right-handed batter top-scored for her side with 29 off 23 deliveries with the help of four boundaries.

West Indian skipper Matthews led the bowling attack of her side with 2/14 while Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack and Shamilia Connell struck out a batter each.

Opting to bat first, West Indies finished at 116/6 in 20 overs at the back of Rashada Williams’ 30.

The wicketkeeper batter remained the top-scorer for her side with 30 off 34 deliveries and smashed two boundaries.

Besides Williams, Shemaine Campbelle remained the other notable run-getter for her side with a 26-ball 22 while the rest of the West Indian batters failed to make a significant contribution.

Dar was the pick amongst the bowlers for Pakistan with two wickets, while Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima could make one scalp each.

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CAPE TOWN: New Zealand opener Suzie Bates struck a magnificent half-century before a disciplined bowling attack led the side to a dominating 71-run victory over Bangladesh in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

After opting to bat first, New Zealand raised a mammoth 189/3 in their allotted 20 overs at the back of a magnificent 81-run knock by Bates.

New Zealand openers Bates and Bernadine Bezuidenhout laid a solid foundation for a massive total as the duo added 77 runs within just nine overs before Shorna Akter provided a much-needed breakthrough by removing the former.

Bezuidenhout scored a quickfire 44 off just 26 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.

Following her dismissal, Bates put on a brief partnership with Amelia Kerr (16) before finally putting on an unbeaten momentum-boosting stand with Maddy Green and carried her bat all the way through.

The duo of Bates and Green added 82 runs for the fourth wicket in just 42 balls. Green struck a brisk 44 not out off a mere 20 balls, hitting seven boundaries, while Bates top-scored fro the side with an unbeaten 81 off 61 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries and a six.

For Bangladesh, Fahima Khatun bagged two wickets while Shorna could make one scalp.

Set to chase 190, Bangladesh’s batting lineup failed and could only accumulate 118/8 in their allotted overs.

Shorna and Murshida Khatun offered a brief fightback with their respective knocks while the rest of the Bangladesh batters seemed clueless against a strong White Fern bowling attack.

Shorna top-scored for the side with 31 off 22 while Shorna could score 30 in 38 deliveries.

Besides them, opening batter Shamima Sultana remained the notable run-getter with an 11-ball 14, while the rest of the batters could not amass double figures.

Eden Carson led the bowling attack for Australia with 3/18 while Hannah Rowe returned with 2/15.

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GQEBERHA: Megan Schutt-led Australian bowling attack restricted Sri Lanka to 112/8 before their openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney led the side to a dominating 10-wicket victory in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Put into bat first, the Sri Lankan batting lineup failed completely and could only raise 112/8 in their allotted 20 overs despite Harshitha Samarawickrama’s 34.

Samarawickrama partnered strongly with skipper Chamari Athapaththu (16) to script a solid start for her side before the latter failed to stretch her knock and perished in the sixth over.

Vishmi Gunaratne then joined Samarawickrama in the middle and added 39 runs for the second-wicket partnership but remained a touch too slow as they conceded 51 deliveries in the process.

Grace Harris, who returned with 2/7 in three overs finally removed Samarawickrama in the 14th over. She remained the top-scorer for her side with 34 off 40 deliveries, laced with three boundaries.

Following her dismissal, Sri Lanka ran into a frustrating collapse and kept losing wickets till the final over with Australia consequently halting them to 112/8.

Schutt led the bowling carnage for Australia with 4/24 in her four overs while Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham struck out a batter apiece.

Set to chase 113, Australia comfortably chased down the total in the 16th over as both their openers Healy and Mooney scored unbeaten half-centuries.

Healy remained the core aggressor of the match-winning stand as she struck a quick 54 off 43 deliveries, while Mooney remained unbeaten with a cautious 53-ball 56.

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CAPE TOWN: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Muneeba Ali struck the first-ever century for the nation in Women’s T20Is before Nashra Sandhu led the green shirts to a thumping 70-run victory over Ireland in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Set to chase a mammoth 166, the Irish batting lineup failed completely against a strong Pakistan bowling attack and bundled out for a meagre 95 runs in the 17th over.

Top-order batter Orla Prendergast offered a brief fightback with her 31-run knock in just 21 deliveries and top-scored for her side, followed by Eimar Richardson, who could score 28.

Besides them, the rest of the Irish batters seemed clueless against Pakistan’s bowling attack, led by Sandhu, who picked up four wickets for just 18 runs.

Sadia Iqbal and Nida Dar bagged two wickets each for Pakistan, while Fatima Sana could take one.

Put into bat first, Pakistan accumulated 165/5 in their allotted 20 overs at the back of a brilliant century by Muneeba.

Muneeba carried her bat till 19 overs and top-scored for the side with 102 off just 68 deliveries, laced with 14 boundaries.

The left-handed batter stitched a magnificent 101-run partnership with all-rounder Nida Dar, who scored 33 off 28 deliveries with the help of two boundaries and a six before perishing in the final over.

Following their dismissal, Aliya Riaz (3*) and Ayesha Naseem (6) powered Pakistan to finish strongly at 165/5 with the latter falling on the final delivery.

Arlene Kelly led the bowling attack for Ireland with 2/27 while Leah Paul and Laura Delany made one scalp each.

READ: Bowlers, Ghosh star as India thrash West Indies in Women’s T20 WC

CAPE TOWN: India’s bowling attack displayed a combined effort to restrict West Indies to 118/6 before Richa Ghosh powered her side to a dominating six-wicket in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

After opting to bat first, the West Indian batting lineup faltered against a disciplined Indian bowling attack and could accumulate a mere 118/6 in their quota of 20 overs despite Stafanie Taylor’s 42.

West Indies got off to a shaky start as the side lost their skipper Hayley Matthews (2) for a combined score of a mere four runs.

Following the early setback, Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle stitched a gritty 73-run partnership for the second wicket before Deepti Sharma struck twice in the 14th over to remove both the set batters.

Campbelle scored 30 off 36, while Taylor top-scored for her side with 42 in 40 balls with the help of six boundaries.

Following their dismissal, West Indies lost momentum and slipped to 115/6 in the final over and later on could only manage to pile 118 runs in the allotted overs.

Sharma led the bowling attack for India with 3/15 while Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Singh struck out a batter each.

Set to chase a mere 119, India comfortably clinched the victory in the 19th over for the loss of four wickets at the back of a brilliant 44-run knock by Ghosh.

Ghosh top-scored for her side with a quickfire knock in just 32 balls that featured five boundaries, followed by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored a 42-ball 33.

Besides them, opening batter Shafali Verma gave India a solid start as she scored gritty 28 runs off 33 deliveries.

Karishma Ramharack was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies as she bagged two wickets for 14 runs, while Chinelle Henry and Matthews made one scalp each.

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PAARL: Sophie Ecclestone’s magnificent spell powered England to bundle out Ireland for a meagre 105 before Alice Capsey’s half-century led the side to a four-wicket victory in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

After opting to bat first, Ireland’s batting lineup failed to impress as the side bundled out for a mere 105 runs in the 19th over.

Opening batter Gaby Lewis remained the top-scorer for her side with 36 off 37 deliveries while Orla Prendergast (17) was the other notable run-getter for the Irish side.

Besides their top four, the rest of the Irish batting lineup collapsed with none of them could amass double figures.

Ecclestone led the bowling attack for England with 3/13 in her four overs while Sarah Glenn returned with 3/19. Charlie Dean picked up two wickets.

Set to chase 106, England amassed the total in the 15th over for the loss of six wickets at the back of a valiant half-century by Capsey.

Capsey stitched a gritty second-wicket partnership with Danni Wyatt after England’s shaky start as Sophia Dunkley and made sure England get over the line despite a late collapse that saw England slipping from 70/1 to 103/6.

Right-handed batter Capsey top-scored for her side with a quickfire 51 off just 22 deliveries, hitting 10 boundaries and a six.

Cara Murray glimmered a ray of hope for Ireland with her magnificent bowling spell as she picked up three wickets for just 15 runs but the total on board was not enough to guide her side to victory.

Arlene Kelly and Orla Prendergast struck out a batter each for Ireland.

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CAPE TOWN: Pakistan started their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 on a winning note with a comfortable six-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the warm-up match here on Monday.

After opting to bat first, Bangladesh’s batting lineup could not live up to the expectation of their skipper as the side could pile up 101/7 in the set of 20 overs despite Shamima Sultan top-scoring with 36.

Bangladesh had a dismal start to their innings as they lost opener Salma Khatun (8) for a mere 13 runs in the fourth over.

Following this, Sobhana Mostary and Shamima stitched an important 38-run partnership for the second wicket before the former perished in the 10th over after scoring 18 off 21.

Shamima then put on a brief 20-run partnership with skipper Nigar Sultana (15) before eventually falling in the 14th over after scoring 36 off 41 deliveries and smashing three boundaries.

The rest of the Bangladesh batters remained clueless against disciplined Pakistan’s bowling attack as six of their batters failed to amass double figures.

Experienced all-rounder Nida Dar and Nashra Sandhu led the bowling attack for Pakistan with two wickets each, while Sadia Iqbal, Aiman Anwer and Tuba Hasan made one scalp each.

Set to chase a meagre 102, Pakistan comfortably clinched a confidence-boosting victory by six wickets and 24 balls to spare.

Skipper Bismah Maroof led from the front after a shaky start and remained the joint top-scorer for her side with Nida Dar as both scored 24.

Hard-hitting batter Ayesha Naseem then struck a quick 20 off just 10 balls to make sure Pakistan sail through in a dominant fashion.

The Green Shirts will now take South Africa in their next warm-up match on Wednesday before starting their main round campaign against arch-rivals India on Sunday (February 12).

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CAPE TOWN: The captains of all 10 teams including Pakistan’s Bismah Maroof participated in the trophy unveiling ceremony of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, scheduled to commence on Friday.

According to the details, the glittering trophy for the mega event was unveiled at the waterfront here, which was attended by all the captains.

Right-handed batter Bismah, who represented Pakistan in the trophy unveiling ceremony will lead the side in the upcoming mega event with the green shirts set to start their campaign against arch-rivals India on Sunday (February 12).

Taking to Twitter, the International Cricket Council (ICC) shared the ‘picture perfect’ of the participating teams’ captains with the trophy.

Picture perfect 😍

Which captain is leading their side to the ICC Women’s #T20WorldCup 2023 title? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ioUhKngxVP

— ICC (@ICC) February 4, 2023

It is pertinent to mention that green shirts will start training for the mega event today in Newlands.

PAKISTAN’s ITINERARY:

February 12: Pakistan vs India
February 15: Pakistan vs Ireland
February 19: Pakistan vs West Indies
February 21: Pakistan vs England

Pakistan’s Squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shams, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan.

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JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s all-format captain Dane van Niekerk has been left out of the Proteas squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2022.

According to the details, Niekerk failed to make it to the national contingent as the all-rounder did not meet Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) fitness requirements.

In Niekerk’s absence, all-rounder Sune Luus will lead South Africa in the upcoming mega event.

“Dané was given an extensive opportunity to meet the minimum criteria, or the fitness benchmark for eligibility into the World Cup,” Clinton du Preez, women’s selection convener said.

“She recently did another fitness test and unfortunately did not meet the minimum criteria, and therefore she’s missed out. It’s purely based on the not meeting of the fitness criteria that she’s missed out,” she added.

Meanwhile, following her omission, the all-rounder took to the microblogging website to express her grief over the decision.

“Absolutely BROKEN,” Niekerk wrote on Instagram.

 

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It is pertinent to mention that the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup will take place from February 10 to 26 in South Africa.

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