Sylhet (Bangladesh), Oct 9 (IANS): Thailand on Sunday registered their third consecutive win of the Women's Asia Cup with a 50-run thrashing of Malaysia at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS).
For Thailand, who are in the race to make the cut for the semifinals, right-hander Nannapat Koncharoenkai top-scored with a vital 41 to set the base for the resounding victory to reach 115/5. The bowlers then restricted Malaysia to 65/8 in 20 overs.
After rain delayed the start of the proceedings, Malaysia pushed Thailand into batting first. They had an early setback as Natthakan Chantham was castled by Sasha Azmi in the second over to give a crucial breakthrough for Malaysia.
Captain Naruemol Chaiwai and Nannapat, her deputy, made most of the dropped catches by the Malaysian fielders to resurrect Thailand's innings. Naruemol hit the first boundary of the partnership in the 10th over as they were hard to come.
The pair then resorted to running between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking for Thailand. The duo added 56 runs for the second wicket before a razor-sharp throw from Aisya Eleesa at deep extra cover cut short the Thailand'skipper's knock at 28.
Nannapat motored along nicely and was on course to reach her third T20I half-century. But a fine catch from Nur Dania Syuhada at short fine leg ended her knock on 41 off 45 balls. Chanida Sutthiruang added some late fireworks with a brace of fours to take Thailand to 115/5 in 20 overs.
For Malaysia, captain Winifred Duraisingam took two wickets for 13 runs in three overs, while Sasha Azmi was at her economical best with 1/12 in four overs. In the chase, Elsa Hunter smashed Nattaya Boochatham for an early four but lost her partner, wicket-keeper Wan Julia for a duck in the second over. Captain Winifred joined Hunter but struggled to find her groove as Malaysia managed just 21 runs in the powerplay.
Post powerplay, Elsa was run out while Mas Elysa fell in the space of three balls. Winifred's struggle ended when she was stumped for 15 in the 16th over. From there, Malaysia slumped to 65/8 in 20 overs to give Thailand a huge boost in the net run rate apart from an important win.
Brief scores: Thailand 115/5 in 20 overs (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 41; Winifred Duraisingam 2/13) beat Malaysia 65/8 in 20 overs (Mahirah Izzati Ismail 17; Thipatcha Putthawong 2/7) by 50 runs