UAE W vs HK W: 1st T20I, Review - Kavisha Egodage's unbeaten half century takes UAE to a comfortable win

UAE Women cruised past the Hong Kong Women in the first T20 international at the Malek Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi by seven wickets. Hong Kong elected to bat first after winning the toss and they lost the wicket of Shanzeen Shahzad early. Natasha Miles was removed the very next delivery by Samaira Dharnidharka and it wasn’t the ideal start for the Hong Kong side.

However, the pair of Mariko Hill and Kary Chan stitched a partnership of 98 runs for the third wicket and helped their side recover after starting with hiccups. Chan made 45 off 53 balls that included six fours while Hill played a handy knock of 34 off 42 deliveries. Once the duo was dismissed, a flurry of wickets meant that Hong Kong could not finish on a high. 118 was all that they could manage in 20 overs despite UAE helping out with 24 extras and they needed an inspired bowling performance to win the game.

As far as the UAE bowling unit was concerned, Chamani Seneviratna was the pick of the lot as she finished with 4 for 24 in his four-over spell and ran through the middle order of Hong Kong. Dharnidharka chipped in with two wickets as well while the other bowlers were not among the wickets column.

Chamani Seneviratna picks up a four-wicket haul

In reply, the UAE side did lose the early wicket of Esha Ozha for just 11 in the second over. However, Kavitha Egodage and Theerba Satish kept finding the boundaries and stuck in a big partnership of 82 for the second wicket which almost dented the hopes for the Hong Kong side. Satish was dismissed after a well-made 32 while Seneviratna played a quick hand of 7-ball 10 as well.

In the end, Egodage managed to see her side through with an unbeaten half-century that included four boundaries alongside Chaya Mughal at the other end. Kary Chan, Betty Chan, and Maryam Bhibi all chipped in with one wicket each but could not pile pressure on the UAE batters who were batting quite sensible throughout the game and ended the game with 4 overs and 3 balls to spare.