Women’s T20 World Cup 2020: Day 5, Round-up

The ICC Womens T20 World Cup continued its trail of dishing out exciting thrillers for the audience. In the first match of the day, England Women thrashed Thailand Women by 98 runs to register their first victory of the tournament.

After the defeat that England suffered against South Africa in their previous match, it was necessary for Heather Knight and Co. to retaliate and bounce back in their pursuit of T20 World Cup 2020. And it was skipper Heather Knight who took the charge and led her side to post a mammoth total against Thailand Women.

An inexperienced and vulnerable Thailand Women bowling force was left reeling to the batting brilliance of Heather Knight and Natalie Sciver. After both the England openers departed on ducks, most fans expected the English side to suffer a batting fiasco. However, the duo of Sciver and Knight had other plans.

A hapless Thailand Women’s bowling force was smoked by the duo as Sciver (59) and Knight (108) remained unbeaten to guide their side to a mammoth total of 176/2. Knight stole the limelight by becoming the first women’s cricket to smash a hundred in Test, ODIs and T20Is. None of the Thailand Women’s bowlers were able to provide her side with crucial breakthroughs.

Hunting down a target of 177 runs was always going to be an uphill task for a naive batting force of Thailand Women. After a gritty 32-run knock by Nattakan Chantam, no other batswoman was able to stick to the crease for a prolonged period of time. Thailand kept losing wickets at regular intervals and they could only amass 78 runs on the scoreboard in their stipulated 20 overs.

England registered a comfortable 98-run victory to climb up to the top of Group B table. Anya Shrubsole emerged as the pick of England bowling force as she scalped three wickets in her spell while conceding 21 runs. She was well assisted by Natalie Sciver, who flaunted her expertise with the ball too by plucking two wickets in two overs. England skipper Knight was adjudged Player of the Match for her sublime ton.

Pakistan flagged off their World Cup campaign on a positive note

The second encounter of the day was played between West Indies Women and Pakistan Women. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Women in Maroon posted a total of 124 runs on the board. It was yet again the brilliance of skipper Stafanie Taylor with the bat as she mustered 43 runs to steady West Indies’ run-flow. She stitched her innings around 2 fours and 2 sixes to ensure that her side does not suffer a batting debacle.

Taylor was joined by wicketkeeper Shemaine Campbelle’s 43-run knock. The batting display by both the stalwarts was crucial in West Indies ticking the 120-run mark. Nida Dar, Aiman Anwer and Diana Baig scalped two wickets each to keep the wickets tumbling.

Coming on to the run-chase, it was a comfortable run-chase for Pakistan Women as they hunted down the total with 10 deliveries remaining. Pakistan Women registered their first victory of the tournament by thrashing West Indies by eight wickets. Muneeba Ali (25) and Javeria Khan (35) stitched sensible knocks to propel Pakistan with a steady start.

Post the departure of both the openers, it was skipper Bisman Maroof who rose to the occasion and played a 39-run knock to steer her side to the victory. She was well assisted by Nida Dar, who also gathered 18 runs at the end. West Indies’ inefficiency in scalping regular wickets was the prime reason behind their defeat. Pakistan’s Javeria Khan was adjudged Player of the Match.

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