Eimear Richardson was named Player of the Match after taking 3 for 13 with the ball before following it up with a brisk cameo of 17 off 11 balls as Ireland raced to the target of 120 with 4.4 overs to spare in a four-wicket win over USA. 

Photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Abu Dhabi (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Ireland’s aggressive top order of Amy Hunter, Gaby Lewis and Laura Delany all made brisk contributions to help Ireland speed past a target of 120 with 4.4 overs to spare in a four-wicket win over USA Women on Tuesday in the final official ICC warm-up match at Mohan’s Oval ahead of the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. Hunter top-scored with 34 off 26 balls while demonstrating a wide array of sweeps and scoops in her impressive knock. 
 

However, it was Lewis who dominated the opening stand with Hunter by scoring 18 out of Ireland’s first 22 runs. After hitting Aditi Chudasama for two fours in the first over, Lewis did it again to Jessica Willathgamuwa in the second, frequently walking across her stumps to access the leg side behind square. Lewis saw her innings come to an end in unusual fashion when she was runout off the final ball of the third over after a scorching drive from Hunter was deflected onto the stumps by bowler Ritu Singh. 
 
USA made it two wickets in two balls when Orla Prendergast slapped the first ball she faced in the fourth over from Geetika Kodali straight to Anika Kolan at extra cover. But Hunter quickly snuffed out USA’s momentum by sweeping a trio of fours off Singh in the fifth before attacking Kodali for another pair of boundaries in the sixth as Ireland ended the Powerplay at 50 for 2. Hunter’s belligerent knock finally came to an end in the ninth when Isani Vaghela induced a leading edge to Singh at extra cover off an attempted flick to midwicket. Delany fell for 15 in the 11^th, given out caught behind trying to poke at a wide ball from Suhani Thadani. It could have been two in the over for USA when Rebecca Stokell offered a chance on 12 driving firmly to Singh at extra cover, but the chance burst through Singh’s hands reaching above her head. Stokell went on to finish unbeaten on 23 off 15 as a result. 
 
Eimear Richardson arrived at No. 6 and continued the Irish method of peppering USA’s bowlers with pulls and sweeps after walking across the stumps, doing it successfully on back to back balls in the 13^th over off legspinner Saanvi Immadi. Richardson fell for 17 off 11 balls when given out lbw missing a scoop shot off Kodali. Fast bowler Kodali took her third at the start of the 16^th when Louise Little sliced a catch to Singh at backward point for 8 before a two by Arlene Kelly off the next ball clinched the match for Ireland. 
 
Kodali bounced back strongly after a rough night against Zimbabwe two days earlier by finishing with figures of 3 for 18 in 3.2 overs. Thadani returned 1 for 7 in her only over while Vaghela ended with 1 for 10 in two overs. Six other bowlers were used by USA (Chudasama, Willathgamuwa, Singh, Immadi, Jivana Aras, Sai Eyyunni), and all of them were expensive going at a minimum of eight per over. 
 
USA was sent in to bat first at the start of play after losing the toss and their innings went through fits and starts as six players reached double-figures, but nobody could reach 20 as Disha Dhingra wound up top-scoring with 17. 
 
Gargi Bhogle was the first to fall, making 10 before being bowled attempting to drive medium pacer Alana Dalzell. Dhingra was the next to go after a 22-run stand with Singh, falling for 17 when he brief shuffle outside the crease was defeated by Richardson to end in a stumping. Singh looked like she was starting to pick up steam after striking legspinner Cara Murray for back-to-back boundaries over mid-off, the second of which came off a dropped chance by Delany, before Murray struck back with a quicker fuller ball to bowl Singh for 16 making it 46 for 3 in the eighth. 
 
Kolan and Pooja Shah teamed up for a 32-run partnership for the fourth wicket, USA’s best of the innings, before both fell to Kelly in the 14^th. Kolan went first for 13, slogging to Prendergast at long-on, before Shah departed for 14 after her attempted drive wound up as a swirling top edge taken by wicketkeeper Hunter after shuffling over in the region of gully to make it 79 for 4 after 14. 
 
Pooja Ganesh lasted six balls to make 3 before she was stumped after being beaten in flight by Murray to end the 16^th. Two wickets fell in the following over to Richardson, ensuring she would end up as Player of the Match. USA captain Sindhu Sriharsha fell for 9 sweeping to Stokell at deep square leg while Chudasama sliced a simple catch to backward point. Willathgamuwa fell in the 19^th to Georgina Dempsey, given lbw to a fuller delivery for 7. Vaghela and Aras survived the final two overs, with Vaghela hitting a six over long-on to take her to 15 not out off 12 balls while Aras ended 2 not out off 3. 
 
Richardson ended with 3 for 13 in four overs of offspin. Kelly took 2 for 25 and Murray 2 for 28 in their four overs each. Pacer bowlers Dalzell and Dempsey each bowled two overs to finish with 1 for 12 and 1 for 20 respectively. 
 
After the conclusion of the warm-up match, both captains agreed to play a simulated Super Over for the purpose of gaining practice in the scenario should it pop up in the tournament matches. Vaghela bowled the over for USA, restricting Ireland to 6 for 1. After conceding five runs off the first four balls to Stokell, Vaghela bowled Lewis attempting to back away from her stumps for a lofted drive over cover and then conceded just a single off the final ball to Prendergast. USA then knocked off the target of seven runs in just four balls. After consecutive singles by Dhingra and Sriharsha, Dhingra lofted a boundary over extra cover off Ireland captain Delany, then clinched the simulated over with a single through midwicket. 
 
USA has three off days before their first official match against Uganda in Group A takes place on Saturday April 27 at 3 pm local time inside Zayed Cricket Stadium.