Scotland, Sri Lanka Register Splendid Wins In ICC CWG Qualifier 2022

Scotland and Sri Lanka registered impressive victories over Kenya and Malaysia respectively on day four of the ICC Commonwealth Games Qualifier 2022 being played at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur.

From the five teams participating in the tournament, the topper of the event will grab the one remaining slot for the main competition in this year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

In the first match, quick cameos from Abbi Aitken-Drummond and captain Kathryn Bryce propelled Scotland to 70/3 in a rain-affected eight-over-a-side affair before their bowlers restricted Kenya to 54/3 to seal a 16-run win.

After winning the toss, Kenya elected to bowl. Sarah Bryce scored back-to-back boundaries to kick off things in style but got out soon, scoring eight off three balls. A fine partnership of 38 between Abbi (21) and Kathryn (27) helped Scotland set up a challenging target. They scored 15 in the final over to end with 70/3.

In reply, Kenya's opening batter, Queentr Abel had a blazing start with consecutive boundaries. She, however, surrendered to Fraser in the second over. Fraser wasted no time in sending Veronica Abuga (1) back to the pavilion on the very next ball. With captain Margaret Ngoche cheaply dismissed by Abtaha Maqsood, Sarah Wetoto then scored 24 not out and Sharon Juma was unconquered on 10 but couldn't chase down 71.

In the second match, Malaysia had won the toss and was elected to field. But the experienced Sri Lankan outfit posted an imposing total of 175/3 in 20 overs. As expected, skipper Chamari Athapaththu handed a great start to Sri Lanka by scoring 30 off 17 balls.

After her departure, Harshita Madavi took control and scored a commendable 65 off 42 balls. She was ably supported by Nilakshi De Silva, who scored 49 off 31 balls. In reply, Malaysia lost opener Wan Julia with no runs scored. Captain Winifred Duraisingam was the only batter who managed to play well, compiling 42 not out off 54 balls.

Sri Lanka's Sugandika Dasanayaka and Oshadhi Ranasinghe went on to deliver top-notch bowling by taking two wickets each, giving away 12 and 14 runs, respectively. Eventually, Malaysia could only manage 82/7 in their 20 overs, losing by 93 runs.

With three matches to go, Sri Lanka are on top with six points and are undefeated in the competition. Bangladesh and Scotland are placed second and third at the points table with four points each but separated by net run rates.