Tag: Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

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: South Africa women’s team rekindled their home T20 World Cup campaign with a dominant 65-run victory over New Zealand in a Group A fixture on Monday, thanks to an exceptional bowling effort.

Spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba led the charge with three wickets as South Africa bundled out New Zealand for a paltry 67 in the second innings. 

Electing to bat first, the home side scored 132/6 in the 20 overs after Chloe Tryon salvaged with a 34-ball 40 in the middle before Nadine de Klerk made an unbeaten 28 from 26 balls.

South African bowlers, however, dominated the game afterwards and wreaked havoc on New Zealand’s batting line, offering them no width to sneak back into the game.

Mlaba unsettled the White Ferns right from the start, taking a wicket in each of her first two overs as New Zealand slumped to 7/2 inside three overs with both openers Bernadine Bezuidenhout and Suzie Bates back in the hut on a duck. 

Marizanne Kapp then dismissed Georgia Plimmer (7 from 12) in the 4th over before Ayabonga Khaka took the crucial wicket of Amelia Kerr (10 off 12) in the next.

New Zealand never looked in control of the chase as eight of their batters did not even cross the single digit.

Skipper Sophie Divine’s unsettling stay offered no significant help too as she gathered a mere 16 from 26 balls while the rest of the batters failed miserably.

Earlier South Africa were defeated by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament.

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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: Harshitha Samarawickrama and Nilakshi de Silva led the batting charge for Sri Lanka as the side sealed their second consecutive win of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup after a comfortable seven-wicket win over Bangladesh on Sunday.

Set to chase a meagre total of 126, opener Harshitha played a valiant knock of unbeaten 69 while Nilakshi succoured from the other end with 38-ball 41 to take Sri Lanka home with 10 balls to spare.

Bangladesh, however, slumped to 125 for the loss of eight wickets as they lacked firepower in the lower order which could have taken them to a respectable total after they reached 95/4 in 15 overs.

Sobhana Mostary and skipper Nigar Sultana made 29 and 28 respectively to keep Bangladesh afloat in the middle overs before their batting choked.

Spinners led the way for Sri Lanka as skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three wickets while Oshadi Ranasinghe had three for 23 in her four overs. 

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, wobbled a bit in their chase when spinner Marufa Akter demolished the top order and reduced the side to 25 for three inside six overs. She picked three and was the only Bangladesh bowler to etch her name in the wickets section.

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CAPE TOWN: Right-handed Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues struck a gritty half-century in the tricky run chase against arch-rivals Pakistan and steered her side to a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup.

Set to chase 151, India amassed 151/3 in the 19th over at the back of a crucial knock by Rodrigues, who scored an unbeaten 53 off just 38 deliveries.

The right-handed batter top-scored for her side with a magnificent knock that featured eight boundaries.

Earlier, opening batter Shafali Verma (33) also laid a solid foundation for the run chase as she put on two vital partnerships before finally falling in the 10th over.

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stayed briefly at the crease as she could score 16 before falling victim to Nashra Sandhu.

Following Kaur’s dismissal, Richa Ghosh joined Rodrigues and added an unbeaten 58-run match-winning partnership. Ghosh remained unbeaten with a brisk 31 off just 20 balls including five boundaries.

For Pakistan, Sandhu led the bowling with 2/15 in her four overs while Sadia Iqbal could make one scalp. 

After opting to bat first, the Green Shirts were off to a rather shaky start as experienced opener Javeria Khan (8) fell in the second over as Deepti Sharma provided the first breakthrough for India.

Following the early slump, skipper Bismah stitched a gritty 32-run partnership with young opener Muneeba Ali before Radha Yadav broke the budding partnership by removing the latter for just 12.

Pakistan then found themselves in deep trouble when their in-form all-rounder Nida Dar perished for a duck in the next over before Sidra Ameen departed for a mere 11 after a brief fourth-wicket partnership with Bismah.

Hard-hitting batter Ayesha then turned the tables on the disciplined Indian bowling attack as she struck a quickfire 43 off just 25 deliveries and bolstered Pakistan to a competitive total.

The right-handed batter struck two sixes and as many fours in her unbeaten crucial innings.

Whereas, Bismah too, carried her bat till the end as she scored 68 not out off 55 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries.

Radha led the bowling attack for India with two wickets, while Deepti and Pooja Vastrakar made one scalp each.

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CAPE TOWN: Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first against arch-rivals India in the much-awaited clash of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

PLAYING XIs

PAKISTAN: Bismah Maroof (c), Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Nida Dar, Ayesha Naseem, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Sidra Amin, Aiman Anwer, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.

INDIA: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodiguez, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh.

HEAD TO HEAD (WT20Is):

Matches-13, India-10, Pakistan-3

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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DUBAI: In a landmark development, an all-female panel of match officials has been announced by the International Council Council (ICC) for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa. 

For the first time in the history of the game, a panel comprised solely of woman umpires and match referees will officiate at an ICC global tournament.

“Three match referees and 10 umpires will officiate the flagship women’s event in South Africa next month as part of the ICC’s strategic ambition of advancing the involvement and visibility of women in cricket,” an ICC statement said on Friday.

The match referees are GS Lakshmi (India), Shandre Fritz (South Africa) and Michell Pereira (Sri Lanka). The on-field and TV umpires will be Sue Redfern (England), Eloise Sheridan (Australia), Claire Polosak (Australia), Jacqueline Williams (West Indies), Kim Cotton (new Zealand), Lauren Agenbag (South Africa), Anna Harris (England), Vrinda Rathi (India), N Janani (India) and Nimali Perera (Sri Lanka).

“Women’s cricket has been growing rapidly in recent years and as part of that, we have been building the pathways to ensure more women have the opportunity to officiate at the highest level,” said ICC’s general manager of cricket Wasim Khan.

“This announcement is a reflection of our intent in this space and just the start of our journey where men and women enjoy the same opportunities across our sport”

It must be noted here that the eighth edition of Women’s T20 World Cup will take place from February 10 to 26. hosts South Africa will take on Sri Lanka in Newlands, Cape Town in the opening match.

Pakistan will play their first match in Group B against arch-rivals India on February 12.

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