ACC Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023: Bangladesh A v Sri Lanka A called off due to rain; UAE registers first win  

2023 ACC Women's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup (Source: Twitter)

The fifth match of the inaugural ACC Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup, between Bangladesh A v Sri Lanka A, has been called off due to persistent rain. Both teams were coming off the back of wins but had to settle for a point as the rain played spoilsport with the match being abandoned without a ball being bowled in the morning fixture of Wednesday 14th June at the Mission Road ground in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

The second match between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates was also interrupted by rain, reducing the game to five overs for each team. As a result, UAE captain Chaya Mughal, who won the toss, chose to field first. The decision proved right as the UAE bowlers made the most of the conditions to reduce the Malaysia women to 34/6.

Vaishnave Mahesh's 3-fer propels UAE to their first win

Malaysia suffered their first blow when Vaishnave Mahesh dismissed opener Ainna Hamizah Hashim for a golden duck. No batter could cross the 10-run mark as Yusrina Yaakop  was their top-scorer with 9 off 5 balls. Captain Mas Elisa was the second highest scorer in the first innings (8 off 8 balls). Vaishnave Mahesh took three wickets, conceding 10 runs in two overs and destroyed the Malaysian batting line-up. Kavisha Egodage and Esha Oza took one wicket each.

However, the chase of 35 runs was not as easy as expected for the UAE batters. All of them struggled, but Rinitha Rajith's short cameo proved decisive, giving UAE its first win of the tournament with one ball to spare. The second innings went almost in a similar fashion as the Malaysian bowlers did not allow any of the opponent batters to touch the 10-run mark.

Skipper Chaya Mughal, the top-scorer for the UAE, scored 8 runs with a boundary in five balls, while the second highest scorer, Rajith scored 7 runs off 3 balls to seal a thrilling win for her team with five wickets in hand. In response to Vaishnave's 3-fer, Mahirah Izzati Ismail also picked up three wickets, conceding 11 runs from 2 overs. Ainna Hamizah Hashim and Aisya Eleesa took one wicket each.