U19 Women's T20 WC Asia Qualifier: UAE, Thailand & Malaysia Emerge Victorious On Day 4

UAE, Thailand and Malaysia registered wins on the fourth day of the ongoing ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier, here on Tuesday.

UAE and Thailand continued their respective unbeaten runs at the tournament by beating Qatar and Nepal respectively while Malaysia notched up their second with an 8-wicket victory over Bhutan.

UAE vs Qatar

Left-arm spinner Archara Supriya's five-wicket haul was instrumental in UAE's 10 wicket-win over Qatar at the Kinrara Oval. After restricting Qatar to 49-8 in 20 overs, UAE openers knocked off the target in 5.4 overs.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Qatar got off to a slow start managing 19 in 6.3 overs before losing opener Shruti Rana for 10, out LBW to 15-year-old leg-spinner Vaishnave Mahesh. Qatar captain Saachi Dhadwal was next to depart for 9 in the 11th over, shortly before the players walked off the field due to a persistent drizzle.

After resumption of play, Qatar batters failed to gain any momentum as they collapsed, losing 6 wickets for as many runs in eight overs to stumble to 49-8 in 20 overs. Archara Supriya took five of the six wickets to fall, including that of Aleena Khan, who top-scored for Qatar with 17 off 27 balls. Supriya finished with figures of 4-3-2-5.

In reply, UAE openers Theertha Satish and Samaira Dharnidharka struck eight boundaries between them as they cruised to the target with two balls to spare in the powerplay. Satish top-scored with an unbeaten 20-ball 34.

Malaysia vs Bhutan

An all-round performance from Malaysia's Nur Abedul Samad, who registered figures of 4-2-4-2 and hit a 31-ball 27, led Malaysia to an 8-wicket win over Bhutan at the Kinrara Oval.

After opting to bowl first, Malaysia's bowlers did well to restrict Bhutan to 87-5 in 20 overs. Bhutan openers Sonam and Ngawang Choden put on a 37-run partnership for the first wicket before the former was adjudged LBW off Nurr Abdul Rahman for 14.

At the halfway stage, Bhutan looked set for a respectable total as they brought up 50 in the 11th over but lost a flurry of wickets to be reduced to 68-5 in the 16th over as Nur Samad picked up 2 wickets. Captain Choden top scored with a 26-ball 23 but found little support from her teammates.

In response, the hosts overcame the early loss of opener Musfirah Azmi in the fourth over, LBW to Chado Om, as captain Elsa Hunter led from the front with an unbeaten 24-ball 37 - a knock which included seven boundaries. She forged a 50-run partnership with Nur Abedul Samad before the latter was run-out for 27 in the 10th over.

However, Dhanusri Muhunan struck two boundaries to ensure there were no more hiccups to complete the chase with 64 balls and 8 wickets to spare.

Thailand vs Nepal

Nanthita Boonsukham's 3-9 backed up by Thailand's sharp fielding to effect five run-outs derailed Nepal's chase of 90 as Thailand comfortably defended their total to win by 49 runs at the UKM Oval.

Nepal won the toss and having put Thailand in to bat, their bowlers bowled well to concede only three boundaries in the entire innings to restrict them to 89-7 in 20 overs.

There were starts with the bat for opener Banthida Leephattana (19), Thipatcha Putthawong (20) and Suwanan Khiaoto (16). Yet, Thailand lost wickets regularly as Manisha Upadhayay struck with the new ball dismissing the openers, both bowled.

Nepal captain Kritika Marasini took 2 crucial wickets, dismissing her opposite number Putthawong and Phannita Maya to keep the run rate in check.

In reply, Nepal's chase failed to gather any momentum as they could only manage 16 runs at the halfway stage losing 4 wickets. No batter registered a double-digit score and Anu Kadayat was the only batter to hit a boundary in Nepal's second innings.

Player-of-the-match Nanthita Boonsukham took 3 wickets while conceding only 9 runs as Pornnapha Saehoe and Thanyalak Chumnan bagged a wicket apiece. Yet, it was five run-outs that led to Nepal's collapse as they were bowled out for 40 with one ball to spare in their allotment of 20 overs.

Brief scores:

• Qatar 49-8 in 20 overs lost to UAE 52-0 in 5.4 overs by 10 wickets; Player of the match: Archara Supriya
• Bhutan 87-5 in 20 overs lost to Malaysia 88-2 in 11.2 overs by 8 wickets; Player of the match: Nur Abedul Samad
• Thailand 89-7 in 20 overs beat Nepal 40 all out in 19.5 overs by 49 runs; Player of the match: Nanthita Boonsukham