UAE under-19 girls make rousing start to campaign

Taking inspiration from the senior men’s team, UAE girls made a rousing start to their ICC Under-19 Asia World Cup Qualifiers campaign with a resounding victory over Bhutan on Friday.

And leading from the front was captain and opener Theertha Satish, who fell six runs short of a century, nonetheless guiding her team to a comprehensive 160-run win at the Kinara Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Giving Theertha able support was opening partner Lavanya Keny, who whipped up a fine unbeaten half-century. The pair put on 185 runs for the opening wicket as the UAE racked up a mammoth 202 in their 20 overs.

The UAE bowlers then got the job done to restrict Bhutan to 42 for seven in 20 overs.

Rishitha Rajith picked up two for two, while Siya Gokhale took two for five.

Opting to bat, Theertha and Lavanya took command of the match with a rolliciking partnership. Theertha conjured a sublime 94 from 64 deliveries during which the southpaw clubbed 15 boundaries. Lavanya was the ideal foil with the right-hander cracking 67 from 62 balls which contained eight boundaries.

Bhutan undoubtedly felt the pressure of the massive target and were unable to put up a fight in the face of some tidy bowling by Rishitha Rajith and Siya Gokhale.

Six teams — UAE, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Qatar and hosts Malaysia are taking part in the tournament.

The winner of the tournament will qualify for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup which will be held in South Africa next year.

The UAE will take on Nepal in their next match on Saturday.

The senior men’s team qualified for the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup.