For a country that was bowled out for nine against Bangladesh in its first women’s international match in 2007, the UAE is now on the cusp of history.
A victory in their final Group B game against Bangladesh — their opponents on their international debut in 2007 — in Dubai on Tuesday will earn Esha Oza’s UAE a historic place in the semifinal of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup.
Almost two decades after their inauspicious debut with a team made up of ‘mothers and daughters’, the UAE have a golden opportunity to prove that their cricket has come a long way.
When the two teams walk out at Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday at 6:30 pm, Chaya Mughal will be watching every moment with great expectations.
It was under Mughal’s captaincy that the UAE made their Asia Cup debut in 2022.
Now that the team is fighting for a place in the semifinal after qualifying for its third straight Asia Cup, Mughal is beaming with pride.
“We are potentially just one victory away from being among the top four teams in Asia. That would be a huge step for UAE women’s cricket, especially with the first Asia Cup being hosted in the UAE,” the former UAE captain told the Khaleej Times.
Mughal said being in this position is a privilege for the UAE at a time when the country is leaving no stone unturned to draw more young girls to cricket.
“Tomorrow (Tuesday) there are many schoolgirls coming to watch our girls play. Today (Monday), we did trophy tours at various schools and the girls are really excited,” she said.
“So, I think this is something we are really looking forward to — playing good cricket in front of the crowd. We just need to do better than Bangladesh for one night. I think it is going to be a great story for us.”
The Emirates Cricket Board also won the ICC Development Award for its grassroots programmes.
“This (Asia Cup) is an opportunity for us to create awareness in UAE schools. A few years ago, finding a good group of players who could play cricket was really difficult,” Mughal said.
“But now, our development programme is doing so well. The best part is that we now have a lot of players waiting for their turn and trying to earn a spot in the national squad. When we see these girls picking up the sport, it is really encouraging.”
Having lost to Sri Lanka in the first game, the UAE bounced back by beating Indonesia.
Now all they need is their first-ever win against Bangladesh.
Ahmed Raza, the former UAE men’s team captain who coached the women’s team until recently, says Esha’s team has what it takes to cause an upset against Bangladesh.
“This is the same UAE team that beat Zimbabwe last year. It was a historic moment — our first-ever ODI series, first-ever ODI win and first-ever T20 series win against an ICC Full Member. That whole tour, across the ODIs and T20s, was full of firsts. There were so many records happening left, right and centre,” said Raza, who was the head coach when the UAE earned the historic win in Zimbabwe.
“Most of the players in this squad have experienced this before. This team started believing in themselves after those moments. Most of them were there when we also beat Thailand for the first time in T20s. When UAE beat Zimbabwe in ODIs, winning the series 2-0, then beat PNG in ODIs and later beat PNG for the first time ever in T20s, most of these players were involved.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow (Tuesday) is another occasion where, after the game, everyone is talking about their first-ever win against Bangladesh. This team has done it in the past. They know what to do and they have been in these situations before.”
Source: Khaleej Times