Hong Kong and Bangladesh qualify for ACC Women's Tournament semi-finals after easy victories in Malaysia

Pre-tournament favoruites Hong Kong and Bangladesh qualified for the semi-finals of the ACC Women's Tournament after convincing victories in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Friday.

Hong Kong defeated Thailand by six wickets and Bangladesh, playing its first-ever tournament at this level, beat Singapore by 10 wickets.

At the Institute Perguruan Temenggong Ibrahim, Kong Kong captain Neisha Pratt won the toss and put Thailand into bat. Her decision paid off as Thailand was dismissed for 40 in 26.2 overs.

Godiva Li was the wrecker-in-chief of the Thailand innings finishing with 3-7 from six overs. Pratt, Kristine Wong, Chan Sau Har Keenu Gill and Ishita Gidwani took one wicket each.

Hong Kong, in turn, lost four wickets before achieving the victory target in 9.4 overs. Wicketkeeper Emma Philips scored 15 and Gill chipped in with 12 before Pratt finished off the game by scoring six runs off four balls.

For Thailand, fast bowler Narumon Sirisuwan took 2-16.

It was Hong Kong's fourth straight victory after defeating China by 10 wickets and 117 runs, and Malaysia in the tournament opener by 114 runs. Hong Kong's last group match is against Nepal on Sunday.

As Bangladesh's men continue to struggle on their tour of Sri Lanka, the women's team made history when it qualified for the semi-finals in its debut appearance at this level.

Bangladesh, who formed its women's team only after organizing a domestic tournament earlier this year, recorded its second successive 10-wicket victory after having routed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by a similar margin on the opening day.

This time it was Singapore who had to face the Bangladesh wrath as the Singaporean women, put into bat, were restricted to 26-8 in 30 overs at the Johor Cricket Academy.

Tithy Rani took 3-11 and Panna Ghosh claimed 2-3.

Salma Khatun and Ghosh took just 45 balls to take Bangladesh over the finish line. Khatun scored 17 off 22 balls while Ghosh took 23 balls for her six.

Bangladesh had prepared for the tournament by playing just two practice games against Thailand in Bangkok on 6 and 7 July, winning by 87 runs and seven wickets respectively.

Bangladesh captain Tajkia Akhtar said she felt over the moon after earning a place in the semi-finals. "We came here hoping to put up a decent performance but back-to-back victories have done a lot of good to our confidence and morale. I think we can afford to think big now," she said.

"We are taking one match at a time and our next challenge is to beat China and finish as group winners. I am sure people back home will now start take notice of us as we are not only competing in the tournament but also winning matches," she said.

Akhtar said the team's success was mainly because of the excellent back-room atmosphere. "We are a very closely knit team where players care for each other. There is team spirit and, most importantly, everyone wants to play and perform for the country," she said.

On Saturday, China will look to secure a place in the semi-final when it faces the United Arab Emirates at the Johor Cricket Academy. At the IPTI, Malaysia will look to put itself back on track by taking on Nepal which itself will be hoping to book a place in the last four.

The increased profile and role for women's cricket in the region is all part of the ACC's five-year strategic development plan and has seen it release special funds to the non-Test playing teams for preparatory purposes.

The idea behind the drive is to synchronise women's cricket in the region among developing ICC Members and, at the same time, provide the players with match action which, it is hoped, will speed up their understanding of the game and their skill levels.

Women's cricket came under the auspices of the ICC and ACC in 2005 when the ICC merged with the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC). Before merger, the IWCC had 15 members and since integration the women's game has grown fast and there were now 42 members with formal girls' and/or women's teams playing in structured cricket competitions.

A further 23 do not have competition teams yet but do have girls in junior development initiatives. That makes 71 of ICC's 101 members with some women's cricket and it is growing all the time.