Scotland 161 for 5 (K Bryce 60, S Bryce 49, Canning 3-27) beat Ireland 121 (Hunter 39, Gordon 3-16, Fraser 3-19) by 40 runs
A scratchy start
The sluggish surface and the slow outfield made run-scoring difficult and soon Canning struck the first blow, tempting Fraser into a miscued hit to deep midwicket where Alice Tector took a superb catch. Maguire then delivered another breakthrough, deceiving Carter in flight and sneaking a full delivery under her bat to hit middle stump. Scotland managed just nine runs from the final two overs of the powerplay, ending it on 37 on 2.
Bryce sisters turn it around
Sarah then took on legspinner Cara Murray, hitting her for two fours and a towering six over wide long-on in a 20-run 11th over. The six brought up the first fifty partnership for Scotland in Women’s T20 World Cups. Kathryn then joined in on the boundary-hitting, taking Maguire for two fours in the next over. The duo then started to find the gaps regularly, with Kathryn bringing up her 12th T20I half-century off 32 balls with a boundary. Sarah, however, fell one run short of the milestone, edging to the keeper while attempting a cut. The 106-run stand had anchored Scotland’s innings and kept them in a strong position.
Ireland however pulled things back at the death, conceding just 19 runs in the last four, with Canning striking twice in the 19th over, removing Kathryn for 60 off 39 balls.
Early trouble for Ireland
In the 162 chase, Alana Dalzell found early fluency, driving the third ball off the first over from Kathryn confidently through mid-on for four. Kathryn, however, hit back immediately, taking a sharp return catch off a firmly struck straight drive from Dalzell at the end of the first over.
But her resistance couldn’t last long, with Fraser returning to have her bowled for 39 in the 12th over.
More troubles follow
Gordon, who became the first woman to represent two countries (the other being England) at the T20 World Cup, then produced a decisive spell that left Ireland with too much to do, taking three wickets in the 13th over to reduce them to 70 for 6. First, she got a back-of-a-length delivery to straighten just enough to beat Rebecca Stokell and crash into her off stump. Leah Paul followed next, stepping out and looking to work the ball on the rise but only offering a simple return catch. Ireland’s collapse deepened as Tector was then undone by a delivery that held its line, leaving Gordon on a hat-trick as Scotland seized complete control.
Ireland would still have had slim hopes while Prendergast was at the crease. She continued to fight by hitting boundaries at regular intervals, but that was never going to be enough, with the required rate zooming to over 15 at the end of 15 overs. In the 17th over, Prendergast hit a six and followed it up with a four. But it all ended in chaos on the next ball, with a late call for a single proving costly as Prendergast, despite a desperate dive, was run out, a dismissal that effectively ended Ireland’s hopes.
Fraser struck twice in the 18th over before Maguire landed the final blow off the first ball of the 20th, as Scotland sealed a landmark victory and broke into celebrations.
Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
