MUSCAT: In the second game of Day 2 of the GCC Women’s T20i Championship Cup, Oman recorded a 182-run victory over Saudi Arabia at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.
Batting first after losing the toss, Oman’s openers erected a 50-run stand to place their side in firm control of the tie. Sakshi Vijaya Shetty looked good for her 14-ball 22, but was dismissed in the fifth over after a running mix-up with her partner. Unfortunately for the visitors, the next wicket did not arrive until the 14th over, at which point the scoreboard read 167.
Stand-in skipper Fiza Javed led from the front with a brilliant 76-run knock and was ably supported over the course of a 115-run partnership by the equally destructive Nayan Anil. The latter made 55.
Priyanka Mendonca followed up her player of the match performance from Sunday with a 28-run cameo that saw Oman post a first innings total of 234-3 — the eighth highest total in Women’s T20I history.
Saudi Arabia, playing only their second-ever T20 International, gave away 50 extras and looked generally helpless against an in-form Oman batting unit. There were far too many dropped catches and misfields and the hosts took full advantage to all but seal the victory before the innings break.
The second phase of play saw the visitors bundled out for 52 with 25 balls to spare. Cheryl Sewsunker was the only batter to reach double figures.
Kashish Deep Jayawant was Oman’s best bowler, picking up 3 wickets while giving away just 2 runs. Afida Aftab, Bhakti Shetty, Sameera Khan and Sushanthika Ashok Sathiya claimed 1 scalp apiece. The home side inflicted 3 run-outs too, showcasing their superiority in all aspects of the game.
Speaking after the contest during her Player of the Match award presentation, Fiza Javed said, “I’m very happy that the team supported me, which is very important. It (the match) was a good show. As a team we have learnt a lot, put in a lot of hard work and so I’m very happy with the win”.
QATAR PREVAIL
Earlier in the day, Qatar edged Bahrain by 4 runs in a closely-contested match.
Batting first after winning the toss, Qatar made 124-6 after 20 overs. Their innings was powered by a 55-run opening stand between Shahreen Nawab Bahadur and Hiral Agarwal, who made 31 and 22 runs respectively.
Bahrain’s openers Tharanga Gajanayake and Rasika Rodrigo bettered those totals, making an identical 43 runs each. However, the bowlers for Qatar kept their cool during crunch moments and pulled the game back in the final 7 overs to secure a much-needed win.
BRIEF SCORES:
Qatar 124-6 in 20 overs (Shahreen Nawab Bahadur 31 (38b, 1×4); Pavithra Shetty 1-16) beat Bahrain 120-3 in 20 overs (Tharanga Gajanayake 43 (46b, 6×4) Rasika Rodrigo 43 (50b, 3×4); Aleena Khan 1-15) by 4 runs.
Oman 234-3 in 20 overs (Fiza Javed 76 (57b, 9×4), Nayan Anil 55 (30b, 10×4); Amna Khan 1-35) beat Saudi Arabia 52 all out in 15.5 overs (Cheryl Sewsunker 14 (10b, 3×4); Kashish Deep Jayawant 3-2) by 182 runs.
