Bangladesh beat Hong Kong by 59 runs in semi-final showdown

Betty Chan in full flight © HKCA

Bangladesh booked themselves a place in the final of the ACC Women's Cricket Tournament after beating Hong Kong by 59 runs at the Institut Perguruan Temenggong Ibrahim ground today.

Things started brightly for Hong Kong when they won the toss and asked Bangladesh to bat. They were rewarded with the early wicket of Chamely Khatun and when Keenu Gill struck twice in her first over, Bangladesh was struggling at 24-3 after 7 overs. Things could have been better for Hong Kong but they failed to take a number of chances offered by the Bangladeshi batters. A good fourth wicket partnership between Panna Ghosh and Salma Khatun steadied the Bangladesh innings and they went into the drinks break reasonably well placed at 48-3. The 37-run partnership was eventually broken when Khatun (16) was brilliantly caught by Sam Mcilwraith in the covers and when Hong Kong grabbed three more quick wickets, the Bangladesh innings was teetering at 71-7 after 23 overs. But Hong Kong wasn't able to finish off the Bangladeshis and an unbroken partnership for the eight wicket lifted them to a useful total of 100-7 by the end of their 30 overs. Panna Ghosh top scored for Bangladesh with an unbeaten 39 off 65 balls while, for Hong Kong, Godiva Li finished with 2-16 and Keenu Gill claimed 2-26.

Emma Phillips and Sarah Eames opened the batting for Hong Kong but they could only post a 10 run partnership before Eames fell LBW. Phillips was then run out (for the 3rd time in the tournament) and Keenu Gill fell LBW to leave Hong Kong on the back foot at 14-3. Hong Kong's hopes of a recovery hinged on the performance of skipper Neisha Pratt, who had dropped down the order in an effort to negate the perceived (and very real) spin threat, but she was stumped in the eight over and Hong Kong had slumped to 16-4 with their best batters back in the pavilion. The momentum had swung firmly in the Bangladeshi's favour and although Hong Kong reached the drinks break with no further loss, their fortunes nose-dived shortly afterwards when Betty Chan was bowled and Renee Montgomery fell LBW to leave them at 32-6 after 18 overs.

There are many positives we can draw from this tournament. Our young players really got stuck in and showed a lot of character, especially in the bowling department. Neisha Pratt, Hong Kong Women's Cricket Team captain

With overs fast running out, the remaining batters had to be more adventurous with their shot play but this also involved taking more risks. In the final search for runs, Sam Mcilwraith was caught and Georgina Chiu Chalmers was bowled to leave Hong Kong at 39-8 and they were eventually dismissed for a disappointing total of 41 from 23.3 overs. Chief destroyer for Bangladesh was Champa Chakma who claimed 3-16 with her left-arm spinners while speedster Panna Ghosh completed a good double by claiming two wickets for six runs and Salma Khatun also picked up two wickets for two runs. Samantha Mcilwraith was the only Hong Kong batter to post double figures with her 16 runs coming off 48 deliveries.

In an after-match interview Hong Kong captain Neisha Pratt said she was disappointed with the performance of the batsmen but felt her team showed good potential. She said: "There are many positives we can draw from this tournament. Our young players really got stuck in and showed a lot of character, especially in the bowling department."

"Clearly our batting has been disappointing and we'll be working hard on this area. We've now seen the level of competition in Asian women's cricket and with a lot of hard work from the squad and continuing provision of resources, Hong Kong can be confident of competing successfully at this and higher levels moving forward."