After an intense round of Group games, Ireland, UAE, Sri Lanka and Scotland have been confirmed as the semi-finalists of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Qualifier.
The finalists after the two semi-final games on Sunday, 5 May, will head to Bangladesh for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 later this year.
While Sri Lanka and Ireland booked their semi-final spots with a near-flawless performance in the Group stages, Scotland lost a game to Sri Lanka and only qualified on the final day thanks to a six-wicket win over Thailand.
Group B had more drama with UAE just about edging Netherlands for the final semi-final spot with their earlier ten-wicket win over the Dutch proving to be crucial.
On the final day of the Group games, UAE beat Vanuatu by 70 runs to boost their net run rate. Meanwhile, Netherlands lost to Ireland and despite being level on points with UAE, missed out on a place in the semi-finals.
Sri Lanka v UAE, Semi-final 2 - Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Sri Lanka, the tournament favourites, have lived up to their reputation so far with four wins out of four and should be backing themselves to beat UAE and end up in Bangladesh for the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.
Like with Scotland, Sri Lanka have been cruising courtesy of some brilliant bowling performances, notably from their spinners.
With Kavisha Dilhari, Inoka Ranaweera and Inoshi Priyadharshani, Sri Lanka have pushed teams onto the backfoot through the middle overs, slowing up the scoring rate and picking up crucial wickets.
Only one team managed to register a triple-digit total against them in the Group stage and Sri Lanka will once again hope their bowlers deliver the goods against UAE.
UAE have faced Sri Lanka just once, back in 2022, when spinners Dilhari, Ranaweera and Sugandika Kumari shared all seven wickets to fall between them.
Sri Lanka haven’t quite managed to put up strong totals in the four games in the tournament so far. Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne are the only two batters to make over 100 runs in the tournament for them so far.
UAE’s opportunity lies in keeping the Sri Lankan batters quiet in the first innings before turning to their own batters, who have impressed in parts in this tournament.
Openers Esha Oza and Theertha Satish have put on 182 runs as a pair, scoring at a rate of over eight runs per over.
In the last two games of the Group stage, both of which UAE won, the duo’s opening stand set the tone for their team. Against Netherlands, Oza and Satish starred with an unbeaten century stand to take UAE home. Against Vanuatu, they put on 44 in the first six overs to help UAE to a strong total.
"One of the moments of the tournament for me was Esha Oza, as the captain of the UAE side, who were down with two losses, playing the way she did against Netherlands," Mir said.
"The way she struck the ball in that 60-odd knock and later, making sure UAE reached their first semi-final, I think that was a big moment in the competition."
With the ball, Samaira Dharnidharka has been the star for them with seven wickets. However, no other UAE bowler has over five wickets in the tournament. Oza, the second-highest wicket-taker for UAE, has four scalps. Leg-spinner Vaishnave Mahesh has only two wickets in four games, but has stood out with her economy rate of 5.81.
If UAE manage to pull a surprise over Sri Lanka, it would be their first appearance at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
"I've really been impressed by UAE in this tournament," Joyce said.
"They've shown real fight. They've got a young team, and they've had to really fight to get through to the semi-final, where they take on Sri Lanka. They've got some exciting young players in their team and the experience they've gained throughout the Group stages and whatever happens in the semi-final, that'll stay with the group of teenagers that'll go from strength to strength."
The finalists after the two semi-final games on Sunday, 5 May, will head to Bangladesh for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 later this year.
While Sri Lanka and Ireland booked their semi-final spots with a near-flawless performance in the Group stages, Scotland lost a game to Sri Lanka and only qualified on the final day thanks to a six-wicket win over Thailand.
Group B had more drama with UAE just about edging Netherlands for the final semi-final spot with their earlier ten-wicket win over the Dutch proving to be crucial.
On the final day of the Group games, UAE beat Vanuatu by 70 runs to boost their net run rate. Meanwhile, Netherlands lost to Ireland and despite being level on points with UAE, missed out on a place in the semi-finals.
Sri Lanka v UAE, Semi-final 2 - Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Sri Lanka, the tournament favourites, have lived up to their reputation so far with four wins out of four and should be backing themselves to beat UAE and end up in Bangladesh for the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.
Like with Scotland, Sri Lanka have been cruising courtesy of some brilliant bowling performances, notably from their spinners.
With Kavisha Dilhari, Inoka Ranaweera and Inoshi Priyadharshani, Sri Lanka have pushed teams onto the backfoot through the middle overs, slowing up the scoring rate and picking up crucial wickets.
Only one team managed to register a triple-digit total against them in the Group stage and Sri Lanka will once again hope their bowlers deliver the goods against UAE.
UAE have faced Sri Lanka just once, back in 2022, when spinners Dilhari, Ranaweera and Sugandika Kumari shared all seven wickets to fall between them.
Sri Lanka haven’t quite managed to put up strong totals in the four games in the tournament so far. Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne are the only two batters to make over 100 runs in the tournament for them so far.
UAE’s opportunity lies in keeping the Sri Lankan batters quiet in the first innings before turning to their own batters, who have impressed in parts in this tournament.
Openers Esha Oza and Theertha Satish have put on 182 runs as a pair, scoring at a rate of over eight runs per over.
In the last two games of the Group stage, both of which UAE won, the duo’s opening stand set the tone for their team. Against Netherlands, Oza and Satish starred with an unbeaten century stand to take UAE home. Against Vanuatu, they put on 44 in the first six overs to help UAE to a strong total.
"One of the moments of the tournament for me was Esha Oza, as the captain of the UAE side, who were down with two losses, playing the way she did against Netherlands," Mir said.
"The way she struck the ball in that 60-odd knock and later, making sure UAE reached their first semi-final, I think that was a big moment in the competition."
With the ball, Samaira Dharnidharka has been the star for them with seven wickets. However, no other UAE bowler has over five wickets in the tournament. Oza, the second-highest wicket-taker for UAE, has four scalps. Leg-spinner Vaishnave Mahesh has only two wickets in four games, but has stood out with her economy rate of 5.81.
If UAE manage to pull a surprise over Sri Lanka, it would be their first appearance at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
"I've really been impressed by UAE in this tournament," Joyce said.
"They've shown real fight. They've got a young team, and they've had to really fight to get through to the semi-final, where they take on Sri Lanka. They've got some exciting young players in their team and the experience they've gained throughout the Group stages and whatever happens in the semi-final, that'll stay with the group of teenagers that'll go from strength to strength."
