CHENNAI: After 16 overs during a United Arab Emirates match against Qatar at the ongoing ICC women's T20 World Cup Asia regional qualifier in Bangkok on Saturday, something strange happened.

And kept happening. UAE captain Esha Oza, who had already smashed a century (113 from 55) and Theertha Satish (74 off 42), had taken the team to 192/0.

With rain threat looming, UAE, in group B with Malaysia the other team, were keen on getting a result. Considering that every win is crucial in a tournament like a regional qualifier, they felt there was enough runs on the board to defend. That is when former UAE men's captain and current coach of the team, Ahmed Raza, did something no one has ever done before.

He went to the match officials and checked if they could declare. When he realised it was not possible, the next query was whether every batter could be retired out. Once he knew it was within the rules, every UAE batter padded up and walked out to bat before retiring themselves out. From 192/0 in 16 overs, they went to 192 all out without playing another delivery. "In our head, it was like we can bowl our five overs to constitute a game, which is the requirement of a T20 game.

UAE went on to bowl out Qatar for 19 in 11.1 overs, registering a massive 163-run victory. "After retiring out all the players, between the innings change, it was already drizzling and we were scared with the thunderstorm and everything that it was going to pour down. And we were playing the second game and there was not enough time. Again, this was all done purely to get a result in our favour, well, to get a result in the first place," Raza explained the rationale behind the decision.

While what UAE did was well within the rules of the game, it is something no team has ever done in an international white-ball game. Raza said that the UAE team meant no disrespect to anyone, including their opposition. "Everything which happened was within the law and it was well communicated to the match referee and the reserve umpire. We took their consent before starting to retire out the players," he said. "I know this extraordinary series of events, which probably hasn't happened before, it should not overshadow our captain's fourth hundred and our opening stand of 192 and then our bowlers doing the remaining job.

With four points from two games, UAE are at the top of their group and will play Malaysia and Qatar in another round of league games before three teams, topper from each group, advance to Super Three where they play against each other. The top two teams among them will qualify for the global qualifier. "I hope we've done well. We've got two more points. We are looking forward to our next game and our next challenge. It's a long tournament. So, we want to keep doing the right things and keep moving forward," Raza said.