On the 5th day of the European Qualifier Division One, the bottom-placed Germany, led by skipper Asmita Kohli, were up against 3rd-placed Italy, led by skipper Chloe Piparo, in the 9th match of the tournament at Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam.
Italy seals a comprehensive 8-wicket win over Germany
The German openers Wilhelmina Hornero-Garcia and Rameesha Shahid got their side off to a cautious start with a 14-run opening stand after skipper Chloe Piparo won the toss and inserted them to bat first. Chathurika Mahamalange picked up the wicket of Rameesha Shahid in the 3rd over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for Italy.
Shravya Kolcharam joined Wilhelmina Hornero-Garcia, and the duo led some recovery with a crucial 29-run partnership, for the 2nd wicket, to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Ilenia Sims broke the stand, by sending Wilhelmina Hornero-Garcia (10 off 14 balls) back to the pavilion in the 8th over of the innings to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
The German batters failed to step on the accelerator as they just managed 108/4 in their quota of 20 overs. Ameya Kanukuntla (27* off 41 balls), Shravya Kolcharam (25 off 27 balls), Karthika Vijayaraghavan (13* off 20 balls) and Nicole Kingsley (11 off 11 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for Germany. Ilenia Sims (4-0-13-2), Chathurika Mahamalage (4-0-17-1), and Teshani Araliya (3-0-19-1) were impressive with the ball for Italy.
Chasing a target of 109, Italy lost the wicket of their opening batter, Alexia Kontopirakis, in the 2nd over of the run chase. Ameya Kanukuntla provided the first breakthrough for Germany. Italy suffered another setback as an unfortunate blow to Mathnara Rathnayake (4 off 2 balls) forced her to retire hurt. Annie Wikman joined skipper Chloe Piparo at the crease, and the duo eased the nerves in the dressing room with a quick 60-run partnership for the 2nd wicket.
Rameesha Shahid got the big scalp of the opposition skipper, Chloe Piparo (35 off 30 balls), in the 11th over of the run chase to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Ilenia Sims (22* off 15 balls) joined Annie Wikman (38* off 31 balls) at the crease, and the pair wrapped things up with a vital unbeaten 39-run stand for the 3rd wicket to seal the run chase with 8 wickets in hand and 6 overs to spare.
Rameesha Shahid (2-0-24-1) and Ameya Kanukuntla (3-1-11-1) picked up a wicket each. Iris Edwards (3-0-20-0) was impressive with the ball for Germany. Ilenia Sims was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive all-round performance. She returned with match figures of 4-0-13-2 with the ball and scored an unbeaten 22 off 15 balls with the bat for her side.
Arlene Kelly, Orla Prendergast, and Gaby Lewis star as Ireland remain unbeaten
An exceptional display of line and length bowling from the Ireland pacers derailed the Dutch batting line-up, after skipper Babette de Leede won the toss and opted to bat first. Robine Rijke (25 off 27 balls) and skipper Babette de Leede (23 off 20 balls) were the lone warriors with the bat for the Netherlands. Arlene Kelly (3.5-0-14-5) was the stand-out performer with the ball, Leah Paul (2.3-0-11-2), Orla Prendergast (3-0-6-1), and Jane Maguire (4-0-23-1) played their part with the ball for Ireland.
Chasing a total of 111, Ireland lost the wicket of their opening batter, Christina Coulter Reilly, in the 3rd over of the run chase. Iris Zwilling provided the ideal start for the home side. Orla Prendergast joined skipper Gaby Lewis, and the pair not only settled the nerves in their camp but also took their side on the brink of another memorable win with a massive 89-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, which also took them past the 100-run mark.
Hannah Landheer broke the stand, by sending Orla Prendergast (49 off 44 balls) back to the pavilion in the 17th over of the run chase, to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. She fell just one run short of her gritty half-century.
Hannah struck again to remove the opposition skipper, Gaby Lewis (56 off 55 balls), in the penultimate over of the run chase. The pair of Laura Delany and Amy Hunter took their side over the line with 7 wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Hannah Landheer (4-0-17-2) and Iris Zwilling (4-0-24-1) were the only wicket-takers with the ball for the Netherlands.
Arlene Kelly was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational spell of 3.5-0-14-5 with the ball for her side. Ireland continued their winning streak with another dominant win in the tournament.
