The UAE took a major step towards the Women’s T20 World Cup after reaching the semi-finals of the qualifiers at Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The national team , who made their international debut In July 2007, at the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Women’s Tournament,have never played at a World Cup at senior level.
Esha Oza’s team will take on Sri Lanka on Sunday, May 5 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium for a place in the final.
On the fifth day of intense qualifying matches the UAE scored a comprehensive 70-run victory over Vanuata before Ireland defeated the Netherlands by 54 runs to ensure that the hosts secured the last qualifying slot at the end of the group stage of the tournament.
With the win Ireland finished top of their T20 World Cup Qualifier group.
UAE’s 70-run victory significantly boosted their net run rate from 0 to +0.976 and levelled them on points with the Netherlands who needed to beat Ireland to maintain their net run rate above UAE’s to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Ireland will play Scotland in the second semi-final after the Scottish women prevailed in a must-win encounter against Thailand.
The 10-team qualifying competition will decide the final two teams for the main event, which will take place in Bangladesh in September and October.
Semi-final fixtures
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Ireland vs Scotland 1:30 pm
UAE vs Sri Lanka 6;00 pm
Friday’s round-up
Match 17: Scotland beat Thailand by six wickets
Match 18: UAE beat Vanuatu by 70 runs
Match 19: Sri Lanka beat the USA by 18 runs.
Match 20: Ireland beat the Netherlands by 54 runs.