Kuala Lumpur, July 30 (IANS) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) held their nerve in a dramatic finish to defeat hosts Malaysia by just one run in the final of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier and seal their place at the global event, to be held in 2027.
The nail-biting victory at the Bayuemas Oval capped an outstanding, unbeaten campaign for the UAE, who emerged from the eight-team regional qualifier that began on July 23 to claim the sole qualification spot.
The main tournament will be the third edition of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, and will be co-hosted by Nepal and Bangladesh in 2027 and will feature 16 teams. India have won both editions of the tournament since its inception in South Africa in 2023.
In the final, Al Maseera Jahangir produced a stellar all-round display to earn the Player of the Match Award. Jahangir top-scored with a 34-ball 31 before returning exceptional figures of 2-12 from her four overs to restrict Malaysia and seal the dramatic one-run victory.
Delighted with her side’s resilience, UAE captain Mehak Thakur praised her team’s ability to handle high-pressure situations.
“I’m so pleased by how well our team dealt with the pressure in this final, which led to our win. It’s so exciting to qualify for the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup; we are excited to get there and hopefully play as convincingly as we did during this tournament.”
The UAE were dominant throughout the tournament, opening their campaign with a 37-run win over Hong Kong China via the DLS method before outclassing Malaysia by 39 runs and Qatar by 81 runs in the league stage. They subsequently booked their spot in the final with a clinical 73-run victory against Bhutan in the semi-finals.
“I would like to thank the ICC and Malaysia Cricket Association for the great tournament and how well organised it has been throughout. The grounds, support staff, liaison officers and officials have all been excellent, and we are excited to get to 2027 for the main event,” added Mehak.
–IANS
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