Malaysia, UAE, Nepal register wins in T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier

Mas Elysa’s all-round performance helped Malaysia win their first match of the T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier against Kuwait at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Tuesday (November 23). Meanwhile, the hosts UAE continued their winning ways against Hong Kong, and Nepal beat Bhutan by eight wickets.



Opting to bat first, Malaysia went on the attacking mode from the beginning as captain Winifred Duraisingam scored 44 off 40 balls. Elysa scored 43 runs off just 28 balls to take her side past the 150-mark. She remained not out as Malaysia scored 161 for three in 20 overs.



In reply, opener Priyada Murali (34) tried to stay in the game, but Kuwait kept losing wickets at regular intervals at the other end. Maryam Omar (22) tried to revitalise the batting innings but it was too little too late. Kuwait were bowled out for 80 with Elysa and Mahirah Izzati Ismail taking one wicket each.



In the second match of the day, UAE got off to a good start as Esha Oza (22) and Kavisha Egodage (28) added 49 runs for the opening wicket. Hong Kong captain Kary Chan fought back with three wickets to keep the hosts in check. Her counterpart Chaya Mughal scored run-a-ball 20 to guide her team to 128 for seven in 20 overs.



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Hong Kong’s chase started on shaky grounds as Shanzeen Shahzad was dismissed in the first over. With Natasha Miles and Yasmin Daswani’s partnership of 50 runs, it looked like Hong Kong will easily chase the target. Captain Kary fought with 25, however post her dimissal, they lost six wickets for just 19 runs. For UAE Mughal and Oza took two wickets each as Hong Kong were bowled out for 117.



At the ICC Academy Ground No 2, Bhutan opted to bat first against Nepal. After a promising opening partnership of 30 runs, Bhutan lost track and lost five wickets for 23 runs. Ngawang Choden scored 13 runs as Bhutan managed to score 61 for six in the first innings. For Nepal, Sita Rana Magar took three wickets and conceded only ten runs off her four overs.



In the chase, Magar and Indu Barma gave Nepal a perfect start as they clobbered 31 runs in four overs. Barma remained not out on 18 and Kabita Joshi finished the job with two fours. Tashi Cheki took the only wicket for Bhutan when she dismissed Magar for 17. After a narrow loss against Hong Kong, Nepal managed to register their first win of the tournament.



Brief Scores:



Malaysia 161/3 in 20 overs (Winifred Duraisingam 44, Mas Elysa 43; Mariamma Hyder 1/23) beat Kuwait 80 all out in 20 overs (Priyada Murali 34, Maryam Omar 22; Mas Elysa 2/12) by 81 runs



UAE 128/7 in 20 overs (Kavisha Egodage 28, Esha Oza 22; Kary Chan 3/23) beat Hong Kong 117 all out in 20 overs (Natasha Miles 37, Kary Chan 25; Chaya Mughal 2/14) by 11 runs



Bhutan 61/6 in 20 overs (Ngawang Choden 13, Sonam Paldon 11; Sita Rana Magar 3/10) lost to Nepal 64/2 in 8.3 overs (Indu Barma 18, Sita Rana Magar 17; Tashi Cheki 1/21) by eight wickets