Dubai: Tall pacer Mahika Gaur’s hat-trick helped UAE steamroller hosts Malaysia in the ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup Asia qualifiers nine wickets at the UKM-YSD Cricket Oval in Malaysia on Monday.
Winning the toss UAE elected to bowl first, banking on their superior bowling strength that has been decimating their opponents so for in the series. Malaysia were bundled out for 33 with Mahika, the player of the match, finishing with a four-wicket haul, with good support from Samaira Dharnidharka, Vaishnave Mahesh and Soya Gokhale.
Easy on the field, difficult at nets
“I have no words to describe Mahika, she is making my job easier in the matches, but making my life harder when I am facing her in the nets. Jokes apart, she is bowling really beautifully and I hope she continues the same thing and reaping the rewards for her efforts. Not only her, all the bowlers did a fantastic job today in restricting Malaysia,” UAE skipper Theertha Satish, who was the only wicket to fall today, told Gulf News.
The UAE have been restricting their rivals so far with Bhutan scoring the most, 42 for seven in 20 overs. UAE bowlers bundled out Nepal for 8 before knocking a big blow on Malaysia.
“It’s always great winning a match for your country. The girls are doing really well and all the contributions are helping out in the results,” Theertha added. “Going forward, I hope, we win all other matches. We will take one step at a time and win against Qatar tomorrow as well.”
Qatar game
The UAE play Qatar on Tuesday and play Thailand in their final game in the six-team qualifiers. UAE are on top of the table with six points from three games and Thailand, who have the same number of points, are in second spot with a much inferior net run rate.
“We feel confident and ready to face the next two games. Today we kept it simple and executed the plans well. Hopefully, we get two more wins and go to South Africa for the World Cup,” coach Najeeb Amar said.
A clinical all-round display from Thailand, led by Pornnapha Saehoe’s 4 for 5, helped the side to canter to a 69-run win against Qatar, who could only manage 59-8 while chasing 129 at the Kinrara Oval.
In the third match of the day, a composed unbeaten 30 from Sanu Rajbanshi helped Nepal defeat Bhutan by four wickets in a nervy chase against Bhutan.
