Pakistan beat Netherlands as both make the semi-finals
Tuesday, 30 July 2013 00:00
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Sri Lanka impress again as it tops Group B; Ireland also through to Trophy semi-finals
Netherlands squeezed into the Trophy semi-final, by a matter of run rate, after losing to a professional Pakistan performance by 20 runs at Merrion.
The match was delayed due to heavy rain in Dublin which made the pitch unfit to play, the Merrion ground staff did a great job in getting play started two hours after the scheduled time and the match was reduced to nine overs. Pakistan batted first and lost two early wickets, Javeria Khan run out by Klokgieters for a duck and Javeria Rauf (1) following shortly afterwards caught at cover by Hannema off the bowling of Kornet; leaving them on 1 run for 2 wickets.
Pakistan then got into its stride as Nain Abidi (38 not out) and Bismah Maroof (25) put on a 60 run partnership, before Maroof was out bowled Kornet, caught Siegers. It was an impressive bowling display from Netherlands’ Mariska Kornet who got two wickets for eight runs in her two overs. Pakistan increased its run rate and finished on 72 for 4 in its nine overs.
The Netherlands hoping for victory, started well with Rambaldo (15) and Veringmeier (12) putting on a good start. Boundaries were few and far between and Tessa van der Gun (11) was the only other batter to get into double figures as the Sri Lankan bowling attack kept it tight. The Netherlands finished up on 52 for 5 in its nine overs, losing by 20 runs. The result meant Pakistan topped Group A and the Netherlands squeezed into second place.
Pakistan captain Sana Mir was delighted by its win: “We are very excited by the win, we wanted to top group A and the team has achieved this. However, looking forward there are areas we can improve on, we haven’t played our A game, so we will be working on those areas to improve, however we will still be confident for the next match.”
Denise Hannema, Netherlands Captain, excited by the prospect of Trophy semi finals said: “Today we came back very strong, but congratulations to Pakistan they deserved it, our performance against a full member is something we can be pleased with. We are very excited to be through to the Trophy semi-finals and we will be working very hard ahead of the next fixture.”
Group B’s clash of first and second was the afternoon match at Merrion, Sri Lanka once again showed its superiority with an eight wicket victory over hosts Ireland.
Ireland batting first in the T20I, lost early wickets and were languishing on three runs for five wickets as Shillington (1), Isobel Joyce (1) who received her 100 cap and sister Cecelia Joyce (0) all fell. Kim Garth who scored 12 runs attempted to make the total look respectful. The Sri Lankan bowlers once again looked strong as Sripali Weerakkody and captain Shashikala Siriwardene both took two wickets a piece; as well three run outs by Sri Lanka. Elena Tice (14) down the order hit two fours and Ireland finished on 62 runs for 9 wickets in its 20 overs.
Sri Lanka’s reply was steady as openers Jayangani (10) and Mendis (20) including three fours, put on a solid start, before Jayangani was out, bowled Garth and caught behind by Waldron. Mendis was next to fall as Joyce trapped her lbw, leaving Sri Lanka on 39 runs for 2 wickets.
Deepika Rasangika (22) and captain Siriwardene (8) wrapped up victory in impressive style in 14.5 overs. Sri Lanka topped Group B and Ireland came second with both teams qualifying for the Trophy semi finals.
Sri Lanka captain Siriwardene said: “We are very happy to finish top of the table in Group B and a special mention to the bowlers who performed really well. Looking forward to our next match, we must keep the same level of performance to be in with a chance of qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.”
Isobel Joyce, Ireland captain looked forward to the next game: “We need to see what improvements can be made ahead of the Pakistan match; we have played them a lot and need to bounce back strong for the next match.”
Joyce playing in her 100th game was presented with a cap and she was grateful for all those that were present: “I was disappointed getting out early on, but I am very proud of my achievement playing in my 100th game and at my home club, a lot of people I have played with or coached came to support me.”
Over at the Hills, Thailand wanted to capitalise on its win over the Netherlands, but came up short losing to Zimbabwe by 29 runs.
Zimbabwe batted first posting 103 for 8 in its 20 overs. Top scorer Nonhlanhla Nyathi (28) hit three fours before being bowled by Ratanaporn Padunglerd. Precious Marange not out added 19 runs to the total as they finished on 103 runs for 8 wickets.
It looked an achievable total for Thailand however the batting line up failed to stay around long enough, captain Tippoch (24) hit two fours, with 23 extras being the next highest contribution. With wickets falling it always seemed to be a difficult challenge for Thailand and they were bowled out for 74 runs in 18.4 overs losing by 29 runs. Zimbabwe and Thailand narrowly missed out on a Trophy semi-final spot by net run rate; they both go through to the Shield semi-finals.
In the afternoon fixture Canada won a tightly fought match against Japan, hitting the winning runs with five balls remaining.
Japan batted first posting 97 runs for 5 wickets Sakamoto hit three fours in her 16, before being bowled by Bartholemew. Kurami Ota contributed with 14 before Patel bowled her out and left Japan on 63 runs for 4 wickets. Nakayama (17 not out) and Kobayashi (12 not out) put on 33 runs taking Japan up to the 100 mark, but they fell short finishing on 97 runs for 5 wickets after 20 overs.
Canada’s response did not start well as Patel was out for 1, lbw by Nakayama. Sivanantham put in a great batting performance which Canada had been lacking all tournament scoring 32 runs with 4 fours, before she was bowled by Yanagida. Durriya Shabbir and Sheryl Tittlemier batted well and went into the last over requiring three runs; Ota hit a four on the second ball and Canada won by five wickets. Japan and Canada will now play in the Shield semi-finals.
The ICC will stream live the final two days of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier 2013, including the Trophy final, the 3rd vs. 4th Trophy play-off and the Trophy semi-finals free of charge at www.icc-cricket.com. This is the first time that women’s qualification matches will be broadcast by the ICC to a global audience, marking another important step in the growth of women’s cricket globally.
