Chaya Mughal is confident UAE can bounce back from their opening day defeat to Thailand in the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
The national team were soundly beaten by seven wickets in the opening match of the competition at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The two finalists in the eight-team competition will progress to the main event in South Africa next February.
Despite the tough start against the top-ranked side in their group, UAE are still able to progress.
They face Papua New Guinea in the second game at Tolerance Oval on Monday. Victory in that will set up a deciding fixture against Zimbabwe in their final group match on Wednesday.
PNG were beaten by eight wickets by Zimbabwe at the same time as UAE were losing to the Thais on the adjacent field in the capital.
“I wouldn’t say that we were nervous but coming to a bigger platform is a different stage altogether,” Mughal, the UAE captain, said.
“The girls were prepared, and we know things like this can happen in the game of cricket.
“There are a lot of positives we have taken from the game today, and we will come back stronger. We have not lost anything today.”
The host nation’s bid to upset one of the favourites to win the Qualifier was derailed almost as soon as it had begun.
In the face of probing bowling by Nattaya Boochatham and Chanida Sutthiruang, UAE were three down for just seven runs after four overs.
Kavisha Kumari, who top scored with 40 not out, and Natasha Cherriath put on a half-century stand for the fourth wicket, so UAE could at least post 92-5 from their 20 overs.
It proved a long way short of being a challenge for the Thai side, for whom Natthakan Chantham was again in punishing form.
Chantham, the highest ranked batter in the competition, made 39 from 37 balls as Thailand chased the win with 22 balls to spare.
Kumari limped off the field towards the end of the chase with cramp after a sapping day, but Mughal is confident her side will be fit and firing when they return to face PNG.
“We can’t blame the heat,” Mughal said. “We are used to playing in such conditions. We were short of 20 to 30 runs. I’m sure if we got those runs, we could have got the result in our favour.
“It is just a matter of our batting clicking at the right time. I’m sure that right time is coming [against PNG].
“It is about going back to our basics and getting those right, and keeping our fundamentals right.
“We are not taking any pressure from this. We are only looking at the positives, and leaving the negatives behind.”
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
8.50pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
