Semifinalists of Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Qualifiers aiming high to get to the final
Ireland, UAE, Sri Lanka, and Scotland have secured their spots in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Qualifier.
The winners of the semi-final matches will face each other in the final on May 5th and will directly be eligible for the T20 World Cup 2024 in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka and Ireland got into the knockout matches without losing a game, Scotland lost a match to Sri Lanka and only qualified due to a six-wicket win over Thailand.
UAE and Netherlands were neck-to-neck for the semi-final spot but UAE managed to take over the race with their win over the team by ten wickets.
UAE further improved their position by beating Vanuatu by 70 runs and boosting their net run rate. The Netherlands’s condition worsened when they lost to Ireland. UAE just managed to get into the semis due to a better run rate than the Netherlands despite having the same points.
The first semi-final will be between Ireland and Scotland at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Out of 13 matches between the two teams, Ireland has won 9. In the last match between the two teams, Scotland won due to amazing performances by Kathryn Bryce and Sarah Bryce, also known as the Bryce sisters.
Sana Mir, former Pakistani captain, in a discussion with ICC, said that she thinks Scotland is heavily dependent on captain Kathryn Bryce, and for her, Ireland is the favorite to win the semifinals but in T20 cricket anything can happen.
Former Irish skipper Isobel Joyce believes that the Irish team will be under pressure because they have made it big in tournaments and Scotland for her is one of the favorites. After all, they have never made it through despite being at this level constantly.
She added that they have tried and added different elements to their batting lineup and their bowling giving them a good chance to win against Ireland in the semi-final.
The second semi-final of the tournament will be between UAE and Sri Lanka at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Sri Lanka has reached the semis without losing a single game out of four group-stage matches.
Just as Scotland has, the Lankans have benefitted from their spin bowling attack.
So much so that only one team has managed to score triple figures against their bowling attack.
Talking about the UAE and their run in the tournament, Mir recognized Esha Oza, the skipper of the UAE side, who brought the team back into the tournament by winning against the Netherlands after losing two matches.
She appreciated her knock of 60+ runs and making sure that her team won and got into the semi-final stage of the tournament. For Mir, this was the big moment of the event.
Joyce was also impressed by UAE’s efforts in the tournament saying that they have shown real fight with them being a young squad and the way they have fought to get into the semis.
She added that their team is full of young exciting players and she was sure that whatever the results the semi-final gives them, that fighting spirit will stay with the teenagers.
