Sri Lanka, Scotland qualify for women’s T20 World Cup
UAE women put on a fight before losing by 15 runs in the semi-finals
Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka survived a scare against the UAE on Sunday to secure the last place at this year’s women’s T20 World Cup, after Scotland also booked a spot at the tournament.
In the second semi-final of the global qualifying event in Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka posted 149-6 batting first, with Vishmi Gunaratne top-scoring with 45.
Sri Lanka, seventh in the world T20I rankings, were in trouble for much of the UAE’s chase, but the hosts fell away after the dismissal of captain Esha Oza for a 44-ball 66, finishing on 134-7 to lose by 15 runs.
Chamari Athapaththu’s side will head into the World Cup, to be held in Bangladesh in October, with hopes of getting out of the group stage for the first time after a historic T20 series win over former world champions England last year.
Earlier, 14th-ranked Scotland qualified for a maiden women’s World Cup by cruising to an eight-wicket win over Ireland.
Captain Kathryn Bryce was the hero, taking 4-8 from four overs as Ireland were restricted to just 110-9 batting first.
Bryce then made a 29-ball 35 not out after Megan McColl’s fifty, as Scotland chased down their victory target with 3.4 overs to spare.