Women's T20 WC Qualifier: UAE pull Off bizarre strategy to crush Qatar by 163 Runs

In a remarkable turn of events at the ICC Women's T20I World Cup Qualifier, the United Arab Emirates Women’s team stunned everyone with a never-seen-before strategy. As rain loomed over the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Thailand, 10 UAEW batters walked off the pitch as soon as they arrived, resulting in a record 10 players being marked as 'retired out'. Despite the unconventional tactic, the UAE team defied expectations by winning the match dominantly.

The game began with a powerful opening partnership from the UAE’s star batters. Captain Esha Oza led from the front, blasting 113 runs off just 55 deliveries, while her partner Theertha Satish contributed an explosive 74 off 42 balls. By the 16th over, the UAE had piled up a massive total of 192 without losing a single wicket. However, sensing approaching rain and unable to declare an innings under T20I rules, the team opted for a bold, strategic move.

With declaration not allowed in T20Is, the UAE batters who followed the openers simply padded up, stepped onto the field, and instantly retired out, allowing the innings to close. This decision shocked spectators and quickly went viral. The plan worked perfectly, as the UAE later bowled out Qatar for just 29 runs in 11.1 overs, sealing a 163-run win. The bizarre yet effective approach not only secured victory but also left the cricketing world in awe of UAEW's quick thinking and tactical brilliance.

Look at the score card here;

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An end-to-end dramatic match 

The weather was cloudy, and rain threatened, which triggered United Arab Emirates batters to take the retired out option intentionally. Two openers, who were smashing boundaries for fun, were the first to get out of the field, followed by the next 8 batters; in total, 10 players of a team went for retired out and did not bat further in the match. 

The Qatar women's team needed 193 runs to win the match, but their batters came and went and left the team in the field to be crushed by the opponent team. 7 Qatari batters threw their wickets for a duck; among them, 6 were clean bowled. Rizpha Bano Emmanuel was the highest run getter for Qatar with 20. In reply to UAEW's 192, QATW bundled for just 29 in 11.1 overs. Despite the series of retiring outs, the United Arab Emirates women's team marked their win in Thailand with full authority.