Naruemol Chaiwai’s unbeaten 133-ball 100 was not enough for Thailand as they lost to Zimbabwe by five wickets in the third unofficial ODI in Harare. Zimbabwe have now taken an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series.
Zimbabwe had to chase only 190. Modester Mupachikwa (52 in 85 balls), Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano (54 in 75), Mary-Anne Musonda (46 in 47) helped Zimbabwe get past the finishing line with 39 balls to spare.
Mupachikwa and Mugeri-Tiripano forged a 106-run stand for the second wicket after Zimbabwe lost Ashley Ndiraya for a four-ball duck in the opening over, to Phannita Maya (1-24). Once they fell, Musonda and Christabel Chatonzwa (22*) took charge to take their side home comfortably.
Nattaya Boochatham (10-2-29-1) and Suleeporn Laomi (2-31) were the picks of the Thai bowlers, while the rest of their teammates conceded more than four an over.
Thailand got off to a terrible start. Their top three – Boochatham, Laomi and Wongpaka Liengprasert – departed inside the opening five overs without scoring. Natthakan Chantham and Nannapat Koncharoenkai did not last either as Thailand were left reeling on 14/5 in 8.4 overs.
Coming at No. 7, Chaiwai played one of the innings of her lifetime. She first steadied the ship with Sornnarin Tippoch (27 in 81), adding 70 for the sixth wicket, and then batted until the end with Onnicha Kamchomphu (10) and Thipatcha Putthawong (20*) to take Thailand to a respectable 189/7. Unfortunately, that turned out to be too few.
Chaiwai has now aggregated 195 runs so far in this series without losing her wicket. Her sequence read 67*, 28* and 100*. She became the second Thai woman to notch up a hundred. Tippoch, the first, hit 108* against Singapore in 2013.
For Zimbabwe, Josephine Nkomo (3-42) did the most damage, while Precious Marange (10-0-26-0) bowled tightly despite not taking any wicket.
The two sides will meet for the one last time in the series on 24 August before moving to the three-match T20I series.
Brief scores: Thailand Women 189/7 in 50 overs (Naruemol Chaiwai 100*; Josephine Nkomo 3-42) lost to Zimbabwe Women 192/5 in 43.3 overs (Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano 54; Suleeporn Laomi 2-31) by 5 wickets with 39 balls to spare.