Dubai: Rwanda snared their second big scalp of the Under-19 World Cup as they got the better of West Indies by four wickets in the Super Six stage of the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.
In the other match of the day, a stunning spell of leg-spin bowling by Parshavi Chopra led India to a hasty, seven-wicket triumph over Sri Lanka.
Disciplined bowling from Rosine Irera and Henriette Ishimwe frustrated West Indies openers as they were kept to 11/0 in the first four overs. Hereafter, leg-spinners Zurufat Ishimwe (2/20) and Sylvia Usabyimana (4/20) utilised the wicket’s turn by pitching the ball up.
They were aided by some erratic batting aimed at upping the scoring rate, reducing the batting team to 49/5 at the halfway stage. Two West Indies batters were stumped in their pursuit of dominating the spinners.
Pacers strike
The introduction of Marie Tumukunde (4/8) in the 11th over further helped the West Indies slide, the team were 58/8 after 12.3 overs. West Indies were eventually bowled out for 70.
In contrast to Rwanda, West Indies backed their pacers during the power play overs. This bore immediate rewards, with Jahzara Claxton (1/16) and Jannillea Glasgow (1/16) reducing the African team to 13/2.
Cynthia Tuyizere (12 from 21) and Gisele Ishimwe (31 not out from 53) gave the batting team some stability with a partnership of 19, but the West Indies spinners wreaked havoc in the middle overs. Rwanda slipped from a stable 32/2 to 40/6 in a space of 22 balls.
Strong fight
Hereafter, Gisele and Irera (8 not out) kept their calm and helped Rwanda overhaul the target. Their intentful running was assisted by a few errors on the field by West Indies.
India displayed strong fight and bounceback-ability after their loss against Australia just one day ago. India knew they had to beat Sri Lanka convincingly as they looked for a semi-final slot in the tournament. Chopra cast a spell of accuracy and deception, nabbing four wickets for just 5 runs in her spell of four brilliant overs, which also included a maiden.
Among those was the key wicket of Sri Lanka captain Vishmi Gunaratne, who was bowled advancing down the wicket.
Incisive spell
At that point, the Sri Lanka skipper was going well on 25, while the rest of her side collapsed around her, having been put in by India. Chopra’s incisive spell saw Sri Lanka eventually reduced to 59 for nine in their allotted 20 overs, with only Umaya Rathnayake (13 from 36 balls) managing to reach double figures with the bat.
India’s resolve to bounce back immediately was evident in how miserly they were; just one wide was given away in the extras’ column. Mannat Kashyap took two for 16, while Titas Sadhu started the collapse by claiming a wicket with the very first ball of the day.
The chase from India was just as resolute. In her post-match interview, captain, Shafali Verma, admitted that the team had set themselves a target of eight overs to reach victory and they did just that. She led the charge, belting a six and a four in her 10-ball 15, while the in-form Shweta Sehrawat fell for 13, just as she was getting into her stride. Richa Ghosh hit her first ball to the fence, and was then caught off the next, as Dewmi Wijerathne claimed three wickets.
Run-rate improvement
Sri Lanka could do nothing to stop the free-scoring Soumya Tiwari, who clattered five boundaries on her way to 28 not out, from just 15 deliveries. She leapt onto anything loose, as India improved their net run-rate significantly, reaching their target after just 7.2 overs.
India now faces a nervy wait to see what else transpires in their Super Six group. They sit on six points, while Australia and Bangladesh have four each. Both those sides still have one last match to play — both facing the UAE — and net run-rate will become a deciding factor if they both emerge victorious.
