Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka registered comfortable wins in matches seven and eight of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi under the Tolerance Oval and Zayed Cricket Stadium lights on Saturday.

Zimbabwe bounced back from a disappointing loss to Vanuatu on Thursday by registering a comfortable, eight-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while Sri Lanka lived up to their “tournament favourites” reputation with a 10-wicket drubbing of Scotland.

UAE vs Zimbabwe

The UAE won the toss and opted to bat first, but just as in their tournament opener against Ireland, they failed to fire with the bat. The tournament hosts lost three wickets inside the first six overs, but the innings was steered back on track courtesy of a 52-run, fourth-wicket partnership between Kavisha Edodage (23) and top-scorer, Heena Hotchandani (32 off 33 balls, three fours).

Both batters fell in quick succession and after their departure, the UAE’s lower-order struggled to get going in the death overs. Rinitha Ranjith’s much needed 19 off 11 balls (two fours) helped her side pass the 100-run mark.

Zimbabwe’s bowlers maintained their discipline with the ball for most of the UAE innings. Josephine Nkomo (player of the match) was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets for 11 runs in four overs. She took wickets both with the new ball and in the death overs with her impressive seam bowling. Audrey Mazvishaya helped maintain their momentum with her own two wickets for 25.

Zimbabwe were rarely troubled in their chase. Opener, Sharne Mayers, fell for 13 after a 22-run opening partnership. Wicketkeeper-batter Modester Mupachikwa (22) added 43 runs for the second-wicket with Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano.

After Mupachikwa’s dismissal in the 10^th over, Mugeri-Tiripano saw her side home in the company of skipper Mary-Anne Musonda who scored an unbeaten 26 off 23 balls (three fours). Mugeri-Tiripano scored a brisk, unbeaten 36 from 26 with the help of four fours. Zimbabwe completed the chase with 27 balls to spare, Suraksha Kotte was the only wicket-taker for UAE.

Scotland vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first and the decision reaped rich rewards as the Scotland’s batters failed to create momentum from the start of their innings. After losing opener Darcey Carter for a duck in the opening over, Scotland kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Player of the match in the win against Thailand, Inoshi Priyadharshani, produced another quality spell. The off-spinner took three wickets in her four overs, conceding a mere 11 runs. Kavisha Dilhari, later named the player of the match, also made life tough for Scotland’s batters with her off-spinners, she took four wickets in 3.2 overs.

Lorna Jack top-scored with 24 runs, while captain, Kathryn Bryce, contributed an enterprising 22 off 19 balls (five fours) but failed to make the most of her promising start.

In reply, captain Chamari Athapaththu, smashed an unbeaten 59 off 35 balls (10 fours, one six) as Sri Lanka cruised past the target in 10.1 overs. Athapaththu played in her typically aggressive manner as the Scotland bowlers searched but found no answers. The bowlers were also let down by a below-par fielding effort, including dropped chances as Athapaththu played her shots.

Athapaththu’s opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne dropped anchor on the other end, her captain leading from the front with some swashbuckling shots. Sri Lanka are now poised for a semi-final spot from Group A with matches against Uganda and USA to follow next week.

Scores in brief:

Match 7:

Zimbabwe beat UAE by eight wickets

UAE 105 for 9 in  20 overs (Heena Hotchandani 32, Kavisha Edodage 23; Josephine Nkomo 4-11, Audrey Mazvishaya 2-25)

Zimbabwe 106 for 2in 15.3 overs (Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano 36 not out, Mary-Anne Musonda 26 not out; Suraksha Kotte 1-13)

Player of the match – Josephine Nkomo

Match 8:

Sri Lanka beat Scotland by 10 wickets

Scotland 94 all out in 18.2 overs (Lorna Jack 24, Kathryn Bryce 22; Kavisha Dilhari 4-13, Inoshi Priyadharshani 3-11)

Sri Lanka 95 for no loss in 10.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 59 not out, Vishmi Gunaratne 24 not out)

Player of the match – Kavisha Dilhari

(ICC)