Bangladesh advance to semis without playing; Pakistan scrape past Thailand in Asian Games

Bangladesh entered the semifinals without even stepping onto the field, while Pakistan had to toil hard against unfancied Thailand in a low-scoring thriller before booking their last-four spot in the Asian Games women’s cricket competition here on Thursday. Bangladesh advanced on the basis of their higher international ranking after their quarterfinal match against China was abandoned due to a wet outfield. The T20 match was called off without even the toss taking place at the Karogi Sports Park in Aichi prefecture’s Nisshin city.

Bangladesh are currently ranked 10th in the ICC’s T20 International standings, while China is way down at the 36th position.

Pakistan, on the other hand, won by three wickets after being a set a target of 92 by Thailand in a truncated match due to wet conditions.

Bangladesh will take on the winner of the quarterfinal between India and Japan, due to be played on Friday, in the semifinals scheduled for September 20. Pakistan will square off against the winner of the Sri Lanka-Malaysia clash, also on Friday.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India are the defending champions in the competition that features only eight teams and began from the quarterfinal stage. The Pakistan-Thailand clash also got off to a delayed start at the same venue due to the ground conditions and was eventually truncated to 11-overs-a-side. Opting to bowl after winning the toss, the unheralded Thai batters gave a good account of themselves by posting 91/4, with wicket-keeper and number three Nannapat Koncharoenkai top-scoring with a 38-ball 49 that featured seven fours.

In reply, it was a typically erratic performance by Pakistan with wickets falling regularly.

Shawaal Zulfiqar (25) and Fatima Sana (21) were the only notable contributors as their batting collapsed despite a relatively gettable target on the board. For Thailand, off-spinners Onnicha Kamchomphu (3/37) and Sunida Chaturongrattana (2/23) did well for the side.