Dubai: UAE girls are a win away from sealing a berth in the first-ever Under-19 World Cup when they maintained an all-win record in the qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur by romping to a 10-wicket win against Qatar on Tuesday. In a winner-takes-all contest, they will next take on Thailand on Thursday for the one qualifying berth at stake for the event scheduled in South Africa next January.
The UAE girls have been literally unstoppable in this tournament - and the story was no different against Qatar on Tuesday. If their left-arm pacer Mahika Gaur had been stealing the thunder in the last two games, it was left to left-arm spinner Achara Supriya and openers Teertha Satish and Samaira Dharnidharka to rise to the occasion on Tuesday.
Batting first, the Qatar girls failed to force the pace against Supriya who returned incredible figures of 4-3-2-5 to restrict the rivals to 49 for eight off their 20 overs. Aleena Khan was Qatar’s topscorer even as she struggled for her 17 off 27 deliveries.
Chasing a low target, the UAE openers showed the urgency to keep on top of their run-rate as Satish (34 not out off 20 balls) and Dharnidharka (16 off 14) wrapped up the match in barely 5.4 overs.
The Youth World Cup for women was postponed due to Covid from last year and the event will as a curtain-raiser to the Women’s T20 World Cup. Incidentally, the UAE senior women’s team, led by Chhaya Mughal, are also in line to play the prestigeous event as they made the cut for the global qualifiers last year - with their qualifiers now being scheduled in September, 2022.
