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Sri Lanka confirm Group A semi-final spot, Netherlands push for top finish in Group B
Tournament favourites, Sri Lanka, confirmed their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier Group A semi-final spot with a dominant, 67-run victory over Uganda at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, while the Netherlands dashed Zimbabwe’s hopes of semi-final contention, with a hard-fought, 14-run win at Tolerance Oval in Wednesday’s afternoon matches.
Opener Vishmi Gunaratne (player of the match) and the Sri Lankan spinners were the stars for the table-toppers from Group A. Netherlands produced a solid, all-round performance with captain Babette de Leede, leading from the front and producing a player-of-the-match-winning performance with the bat in their crucial Group B encounter, which kept their semi-final hopes alive, while ending Zimbabwe’s.
Zimbabwe vs Netherlands
Opting to bat first, Netherlands lost key batter Iris Zwilling early to a direct hit at the non-striker’s end by Pellagia Mujaji, but Sterre Kalis and de Leede rebuilt with a watchful stand.
The partnership began slowly as Netherlands ambled to 29 in the first six overs. Kalis opened up with back-to-back fours off Josephine Nkomo and looked in ominous touch.
Sharne Mayers was brought into the attack in the 13th over and struck off her first delivery, cleaning up de Leede for 37 to break the stand.
Francis Chipare doubled it up with the wicket of Kalis two overs later, trapping her in front for 34 off 37 balls.
Netherlands added 42 runs in the last five overs with Robine Rijke leading the charge. She remained unbeaten on 39 off 25 balls to give the innings the late push it badly needed.
In reply, Modester Mupachikwa led Zimbabwe’s fight at the top but Netherlands struck at the other end, sending back three batters inside the Powerplay.
Frederique Overdijk, Silver Siegers and Zwilling took a wicket apiece as Zimbabwe were reduced to 29/3. Caroline de Lange added another scalp to the tally after the Powerplay, sending Ashley Ndiraya back to the hut for three.
Nkomo and Mupachikwa resurrected the innings with a solid partnership but with Netherlands maintaining impeccable discipline with the ball, the runs were not coming as quickly as they would have wanted.
Zimbabwe needed 52 in the last five overs to win, but could only manage 37 more and finished on 121/4, despite the Nkomo-Mupachikwa stand remaining unbeaten.
Netherland’s triumph today makes it two in three games in the tournament so far.
Sri Lanka vs Uganda
A career-best T20I knock from Vishmi Gunaratne and a brilliant bowling effort led Sri Lanka to a massive win in Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
The opening stand began with a bang for Sri Lanka as Chamari Athapaththu and Gunaratne completed their fifty-run partnership from 45 balls. It was brought to a screeching halt by Janet Mbabazi who removed Athapaththu for 24 off 21.
Harshitha Madavi was run out shortly afterwards, but Gunaratne found support from Hasini Perera, who came in at number four. Gunaratne completed her half-century from 51 deliveries, with Perera being the aggressor at the other end. The latter was eventually dismissed for 30 off 24 balls in the 18th over.
Gunaratne finished on an unbeaten 73 off 64 balls, her highest score in T20Is, leading Sri Lanka to a formidable 154/4 in 20 overs.
In the chase, Sri Lanka were all over Uganda in no time, reducing them to 22/2 inside the Powerplay.
Inoka Ranaweera stepped into the attack immediately after the Powerplay and struck twice in two deliveries, limiting Uganda to 22/4. Left-arm wrist spinner, Shashini Gimhani, also took a wicket in her first over, leaving Uganda five wickets down inside 10 overs with 35 runs on the board.
Prosscovia Alako resisted Sri Lanka’s charge but scarcely found support from the other end as wickets kept tumbling. She made 36 in 32 balls and was the seventh batter dismissed.
Kavisha Dilhari saw off the last two wickets from successive deliveries in the final over and Uganda were bundled out for 87, handing Sri Lanka a satisfactory victory.
With the 67-run win, Sri Lanka continue their unbeaten streak in the tournament with three wins out of three in Group A.
Scores in brief:
Match 13:
Netherlands beat Zimbabwe by 14 runs
Netherlands 135 for 6 in 20 overs (Robin Rijke 39 not out, Babette De Leede 37, Sterre Kalis 34; Francisca Chipare 2-27)
Zimbabwe 121 for 4 in 20 overs (Josephine Nkomo 39 not out, Modester Mupachikwa 39 not out; Caroline De Lange 1-17, Iris Zwilling 1-19)
Player of the Match – Babette De Leede
Match 14:
Sri Lanka beat Uganda by 67 runs
Sri Lanka 154 for 4 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 73 not out, Hasini Perera 30; Janet Mbabazi 1-19)
Uganda 87 all out in 19.2 overs (Prosscovia Alako 36; Inoka Ranaweera 2-10, Shashini Gimhani 2-23, Kavisha Dilhari 2-27)
Player of the Match – Vishmi Gunaratne
(ICC)
The aid group Doctors Without Borders has reported recovering 11 bodies and rescuing dozens of people off the coast of Libya as it criticised the migration policies of the North African country and European countries.
In a statement on Friday, the group, known by its French initials MSF, said its Geo Barents rescue vessel managed to recover the bodies following a search operation lasting more than nine hours after being alerted by German nongovernmental organisation Sea-Watch, which also rescues refugees and migrants.
“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to take dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal pathways for them,” MSF said in a post on X. “This catastrophe must end!”
Sea-Watch said it is unclear whether the bodies were victims of a previously unknown shipwreck, adding that they tried to contact Libya’s coastguard to go and retrieve the dead, but received no reply.
“The so-called Libyan coastguard – financed by the EU – ignored our call demanding that the bodies be recovered,” the group said.
Thousands of people trying to head from Africa to Europe use Libya as a departing point, with the Italian island of Lampedusa the nearest European destination as they undertake the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to escape war, poverty and persecution.
Italy, which wants to put a stop to the migration stream, has said Libya and neighbouring Tunisia must do more to stop people from going to sea. It has also clamped down on the operation of the rescue ships, arguing that they encourage people to head to Europe, a charge that is denied by the charities.
Emphasising its policy on the rescue ships, Italy said on Friday that it forced the MSF rescue vessel to take the 165 people that it had saved from boats in the Mediterranean operation to the northern port of Genoa. The port was more than 650 nautical miles (1,200km) from their position and much farther than the more convenient ports in nearby Sicily, significantly delaying assistance to the rescued.
The route in the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world, with the United Nations registering more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the area since 2014.
More than 3,000 refugees and migrants went missing in 2023 while attempting to use the route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
According to Italy’s interior ministry, the number of arrivals in the country has dropped in 2024 to fewer than 21,800 people since the beginning of the year, compared with close to 53,300 in the same period last year.
[Aljazeera]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.
After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
With the pitch assisting both seamers and spinners, chasing 160 was not going to be easy. But few would have expected New Zealand to collapse in the manner they did.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.
Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end. Both batters had luck on their side, too. Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.
That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.
Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.
New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.
Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.
Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.
Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.
Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.
The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.
It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.
Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.
Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 159 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44, Azmatullah Omarzai 22; Trent Boult 2-22, Matt Henry 2-37, Lockie Fergusoan 1-28) beat New Zealand 75 in 15.2 overs (Glenn Phillips 18; Rashid Khan 4 for 17, Fazalhaq Farooqi 4 for 17, Mohammad Nabi 2-16) by 84 runs
[Cricinfo]
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