Sri Lanka favourites to win Women’s T20 WC Qualifier

Sri Lanka will be aiming to top Group ‘A’ on their way to a place in the final (File photo) 

Sri Lanka, Scotland and Thailand are set to battle it out for the top two Group ‘A’ spots of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier which begins on April 25 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
The two finalists of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi will secure their spots in this year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh.
The 10 teams competing in the Qualifier have been divided into two groups of five each. The top two from each group will enter the semi-finals with the semi-final winners confirming their trip to Bangladesh.
Scotland, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda and the United States of America (USA) will feature in Group ‘A’ while Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vanuatu and Zimbabwe make up Group ‘B’.
Sri Lanka will start the tournament as firm favourites. Buoyed by their recent T20I series win in South Africa, the Chamari Atapattu-led side will be aiming to top Group ‘A’ on their way to a place in the final. 
Sri Lanka will be aiming to make the most of the upward curve in their form following the disappointing results in last year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa where they finished fourth in Group 1 and ended up competing in the Qualifier for an entry into this year’s main event.
Sri Lanka will begin the tournament as the highest ranked team in the ICC Women’s T20 Rankings – seventh. They play Thailand in the tournament opener at the Tolerance Oval on April 25.
Scotland, currently ranked 14th in the ICC Women’s T20I Rankings have been in the UAE for nearly two weeks. In the lead-up to the tournament, they have played 50-over matches against the USA and Papua New Guinea and are set to feature in a Quadrangular T20 tournament with the UAE, Netherlands and USA – weather permitting in Abu Dhabi this week.
Scotland are yet to make an appearance in the Women’s T20 World Cup and will be aiming to first secure a semi-final spot from Group ‘A’ before challenging for the ultimate prize in Abu Dhabi – a ticket to Bangladesh. 
They open their campaign against Uganda on the opening day of the tournament with a night match at Tolerance Oval.
Thailand will be aiming to return to the pinnacle Women’s T20 event this year after failing to qualify for last year’s edition. The Asian team is currently ranked 12th. 
Thailand gave Pakistan a real fight in the 2020 edition in Australia (the match was eventually abandoned due to rain, Thailand had scored 150 for three in 20 overs) before defeating them in an Asia Cup fixture in October 2022.
Uganda have entered the Qualifier as one of the two teams from Africa. They are currently ranked 18th and will need to produce some stellar individual and team performances to get past the experienced Group ‘A’ sides of Sri Lanka, Scotland and Thailand. 
Uganda have previously defeated Thailand in a T20I while enduring a defeat in their only other T20I against the Asian side. They were also defeated in their only T20I against Scotland to date.
The USA, who have recently gained ODI status, are yet to appear in an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup event – currently ranked 23rd in the team rankings. 
After securing the Americas’ spot in the Qualifier, USA will be aiming to deliver the goods after gaining adequate knowledge of the conditions with their 50-over matches in Dubai.
The team will gain further exposure and insights of the conditions in Abu Dhabi during the quadrangular event in the lead up to the tournament and will also aim to work out their best combinations and strategy in their two warm-up matches against Zimbabwe and Ireland before their tournament opener against Uganda at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on April 27.
The fixtures: 
(April 25): Sri Lanka vs Thailand at Tolerance Oval, Scotland vs Uganda at Tolerance Oval, Ireland vs UAE at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Zimbabwe vs Vanuatu at Zayed Cricket Stadium. 
(April 27): Vanuatu vs Netherlands at Tolerance Oval, UAE vs Zimbabwe at Tolerance Oval, Uganda vs USA at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Scotland vs Sri Lanka at Zayed Cricket Stadium. 
(April 29): USA vs Scotland at Tolerance Oval, Uganda vs Thailand at Tolerance Oval, Ireland vs Zimbabwe at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Netherlands vs UAE at Zayed Cricket Stadium. 
(May 1): Zimbabwe vs Netherlands at Tolerance Oval, Vanuatu vs Ireland at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka vs Uganda at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Thailand vs USA at Zayed Cricket Stadium. 
(May 3): Thailand vs Scotland at Tolerance Oval. USA vs Sri Lanka at Zayed Cricket Stadium, UAE vs Vanuatu at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Netherlands vs Ireland at Zayed Cricket Stadium.
(May 5): Semi-final 1 at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Semi-final 2 at Zayed Cricket Stadium.
(May 7): Final at Zayed Cricket Stadium. (ICC)