HONG KONG, CHINA BEAT NEPAL TO HEAD GROUP C
The fourth day of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup had seen teams at the two grounds for a total of eight hours without any play and the first two matches of the day at TCG had been abandoned without a ball bowled. But just before 4 pm play got underway at AIT with the eagerly anticipated contest between Nepal ranked in 21st place in the women’s T20I rankings and Hong Kong, China ranked in 22nd.
The first time this contest had been scheduled it had been abandoned but at the last possible moment the two sides got on the field for a match reduced to five overs per side and it was Hong Kong, China which came through as they restricted Nepal to 29 for 3 then chased down the target with three balls in hand.
Alison Siu bowled brilliantly for Hong Kong, China as she took three wickets for 11 in her two overs and she was well backed up by Kary Chan and Iqra Sahar as Nepal hit only boundary in their innings as Samjhana Khadka top-scored with 10 from 7 balls.
Nepal fought back strongly with the ball as Hong Kong, China lost two wickets in the first over as Kary Chan was run out for 0 and Natasha Miles also fell for 0. Shanzeen Shahzad held firm with Mariko Hill from a position of 0 for 2 and then hit a crucial six in the fourth over.
Hong Kong, China won by seven wickets with three balls to spare and overtook Nepal to head the table in Group C on four points with one win and two no results. Thailand still top Group A and UAE Group B but both of their matches were abandoned without a ball bowled as yesterday’s floods at TCG took their toll despite the hard work of the ground staff.
The umpires consulted with the curator on their arrival at 8am and inspected the ground at TCG. It was raining steadily rather than heavily but the ground would require several hours of dry weather to recover before any play is possible
The match was abandoned without a ball bowled as it was still raining at 9 am. Thailand and Kuwait shared the points with Thailand top of Group A on 4 points and Kuwait in second place on 3 points. Thailand need to win their remaining match against Bhutan to be sure of qualifying for the Super Three stage.
Attention then turned to the second match of the day at TCG. The rain had stopped and the ground were beginning to take off the covers which had been in place since yesterday afternoon.
Great efforts were being made at TCG to dry the ground with four giant fans connected to a generator placed on the edge of the square. There would be another inspection at 2 pm in the hope of staging a shortened match later in the afternoon
The sun was breaking through and the ground staff were mopping up the puddles with blankets and pieces of foam. The wet patches were extensive but the effort equally impressive. The ingenuity continued at TCG as the pitch was moved to the centre of the square so the boundary rope could be moved in to avoid more wet areas.
The match was finally called off after 3 pm with the ground staff’s heroic efforts proving in vain. UAE and Malaysia took a point apiece so in Group B UAE now had 5 points and Malaysia 2 points.
The players and officials left the ground with the sun shining and with the conditions looking the best so far in the tournament but the ground had been deemed too wet after yesterday’s torrential rain.
The match between Nepal and Hong Kong, China showed how exciting a five-over contest could be and Hong Kong, China now have a great chance of qualifying for the Super Three which will provide an exciting climax to this tournament.
