Dubai: The UAE women’s team produced a poor show against Bangladesh in the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier on Tuesday. They were bowled out for a paltry 39 runs in 16.2 overs as Bangladesh sailed to a comfortable eight-wicket win in 6.5 overs.
UAE had gone down to Papua New Guinea (PNG) by two wickets after winning against the Netherlands in the opening match. PNG, by defeating Netherlands sailed into the semi-finals along with Bangladesh, thus ending UAE’s hopes of qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup.
UAE knew that it would be a tough fight against Bangladesh team who recently defeated the experienced Indian women’s team in the recent Asia CupT20 tournament. The defeat resulted in Indian coach Tushar Arothe resigning from his post on Wednesday. However, the UAE were expected to put up a better show.
Bangladesh bowler Fahima Khatun produced a deadly spell of four wickets for eight runs which included a hat-trick. That bowling performance effectively meant that the UAE team lost six wickets for no run in eight balls. Except for opener Esha Oza, who scored 18, none of the other UAE batswomen reached double figures.
THe UAE women’s team selection for the ICC Women’s World T20 qualifier had come in for criticism and, the poor show, especially after a creditable show in the the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 qualifying series from the Asia region in Bangkok, is a setback for the team.
Chasing the small total, Bangladesh lost their opener Ayasha Rahman to Subha Srinvasan, who has bowled well right through the tournament.
Nisha Ali, who created a world record in the first match by claiming five consecutive player of the match awards, took the wicket of Sanjida Islam for 15 but Nigar Sultana, with an unbeaten 21, ensured a comfortable win for Bangladesh.
