Mongolia’s women’s cricket team endured a horrific time in their maiden International cricket tournament. After getting bowled out for 15 against Indonesia on their Asian Games debut, they were bundled out for 22 by Hong Kong in the quarterfinal qualifier on Wednesday, 20th September.
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Asian Games – Mongolia vs Hong Kong
After receiving a thrashing from Indonesia on Tuesday, Mongolia still had a chance to qualify for the quarterfinal. Against Hong Kong, the Mongolians won the toss and opted to field first.
The bowlers went on to receive a thrashing as the Hong Kong Women posted a mammoth total of 202 in 20 overs. The team’s skipper Kary Chan top-scored by scoring 70. Chasing 203, the poor batting show from the Mongolians continued.
None of the batters could reach the double figures. They played for 14.3 overs before eventually losing all their wickets for a paltry score of 22. With the loss, the Mongolian’s campaign in the tournament came to an end. Hong Kong meanwhile qualified for the quarterfinal and will face Bangladesh.
Asian Games – Mongolia vs Indonesia
On Tuesday, the Mongolians were left in tears after being bowled out for 15 runs by Indonesia. Batting first, Indonesia made 187-4 in the T20 preliminary-round match. Their total included 49 extras, 38 of them wides by the Mongolian bowlers.
In reply, an outclassed Mongolia was out for 15 in 10 overs. It was the joint 11th lowest total in Women’s T20I cricket. The team led by the 19-year old Tsendsuren were making international debut in the match.
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Mongolia can still hold their head high
After the performance, Mongolia’s coach David Talalla said he was proud of his young team, given their very limited resources and experience of the sport. “I know we’ve only made 15 runs but none of our girls have played the game for longer than two years and we know what a technical game it is,” said Talalla.
More than half of his players had never even left Mongolia before. It was also their first experience of a grass wicket, having been used to an artificial pitch at home.
Talalla said that Mongolia’s kit is second-hand from Australia. Their four bats were also donated by a French ambassador whose wife is English and a cricket fan. The coach is also working for free. “We’ve only got a squad of 12 — that’s all we could afford to bring,” added Talalla.
“The whole idea is the longer picture — cricket in Mongolia, who would have thought it?” he said. “Even myself, I’ve only been in the job here for five weeks as a high-performance coach but six months ago, I didn’t even know they played cricket in Mongolia. I think most of the world didn’t.”
