Ireland, Scotland notch impressive wins in T20WC warm-ups

The tune-up to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 continued on Tuesday, as Ireland took on Bangladesh and Pakistan faced off against Scotland in the first set of warm-up games.

Later in the day, the two finalists of the previous edition will face off as New Zealand take on South Africa, while tournament debutants Netherlands will play against Sri Lanka.

The Women’s T20 World Cup, which will take place across seven venues in England, begins later in the week, on June 12.

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Ireland v Bangladesh

Scorecard

In a low-scoring game, Ireland edged past Bangladesh by 11 runs in Loughborough. While both the teams still have some wrinkles to iron out, Ireland will take heart from the performance of the younger players in the team.

Ava Canning’s late flourish took Ireland to 143/9, and Aimee Maguire’s four-wicket haul helped them restrict Bangladesh to 132/6. It is their last warm-up game, before they face Scotland in Manchester in a World Cup clash on June 13.

Put into bat, wicketkeeper-batter Amy Hunter gave Ireland a decent enough start, Ireland managed 42/2 in powerplay but soon crashed to 43/4.

Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell went into damage-control mode, playing with caution and rotating the strike to stitch a 43-run stand for the fifth wicket. Stokell’s 30 off 23 was the highest individual score for Ireland on the day. But Paul’s exit in the 13^th over triggered another mini-collapse.

It was only some big hitting by Canning in the final over that took Ireland beyond 140. Canning struck back-to-back sixes, and a four to help her team garner 21 runs in the last over.

Six of the seven bowlers they employed on the day returned with wickets. Left-arm spinner Sanjida Akter Meghla was the pick of the lot, claiming three for 26 in her four overs.

In reply, Maguire gave Ireland the perfect start, as she bowled Dilara Akter on the third ball of the innings, with Bangladesh still to get off the mark.

However, the Asian side soon found their way back as Juairiya Ferdous and Sharmin Akhter put on 77 runs for the second wicket. Ferdous found her range, hitting 10 fours for a brisk half-century, but Akhter used up 40 balls for 27.

The wind was knocked out of Bangladesh’s sails after Ferdous fell to Lara McBride. In her second spell, left-arm spinner Maguire ran through the Bangladesh middle order, dismissing Akther, captain Nigar Sultana and all-rounder Sobhana Mostary in the space of two overs. Bangladesh lower-order did not have enough firepower in the death overs to cross the finish line.

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Scotland v Pakistan

Scorecard

Scotland recorded a second win on the trot as they put on a dominant show against Pakistan, winning by 41 runs by the DLA method in Derby on Tuesday.

With captain Kathryn Bryce taking charge, Scotland piled on 191/5 after a watchful start in the warm-up game against Pakistan. In reply, Pakistan had slipped to 62/5 before rain stopped play.

Electing to field first, Pakistan kept Scotland in check in the opening overs, restricting them to 41/0 in powerplay. Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal provided the breakthrough right after the first drinks break as she clean bowled Katherine Fraser with an arm ball.

However, the Scottish innings turned on a dime when Nashra Sundhu spilled a caught and bowled chance when Bryce was on six. Given a lease of life, the Scottish captain snatched the momentum from Pakistan. Putting on an awesome display of power-hitting, Bryce struck 11 fours and three sixes to score 94 off just 43 deliveries.

She shifted into a higher gear in the death overs, helping Scotland to 50 runs in the last three overs.

For Pakistan, Tasmia Rubab, Iqbal and Ayesha Zafar claimed a wicket each. But their catching and ground fielding let them down once again.

Facing a daunting total, Pakistan batters never really got going. With Rachel Slater claiming two quick wickets, they were reduced to 45/3 in powerplay. Captain Fatima Sana was unbeaten on 12 when rain stopped play.

With no further play possible, Scotland clinched the match by D/L method.

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