By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal’s journey in the ACC Women’s Emerging Team Asia Cup came to a disappointing end as they faced an early exit from the tournament due to rain abandoning their final group stage match against the hosts Hong Kong.
The match between Nepal and Hong Kong was called off due to inclement weather, resulting in both teams sharing the spoils. As a result, India A and Pakistan A secured their places in the semifinals from Group ‘A’.
In the inaugural edition of the ACC Women’s Emerging Team Asia Cup, Nepal began their campaign with a narrow 9-run loss to Pakistan A. Their second match against India A got abandoned due to heavy rainfall at the Mission Road Ground. Unfortunately, the downpour affected Nepal’s final group stage match against the hosts as well, sealing their fate and eliminating them from the tournament.
With two points from three matches, Nepal failed to progress further in the tournament. India A and Pakistan A occupy the top two spots in Group ‘A’ with four points each, having won one match each. The second match, scheduled for Saturday, was also called off due to rain, but India advanced to the semifinals as the Group ‘A’ winners based on their superior Net Run Rate (NRR) of 5.425, while Pakistan’s NRR stood at 0.450.
Meanwhile, in Group ‘B’, Bangladesh A emerged as the table-toppers, securing a place in the semifinals alongside runners-up Sri Lanka A. Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka accumulated four points from three matches. However, Bangladesh claimed the top spot in Group ‘B’ due to their higher NRR of 4.850, compared to Sri Lanka’s NRR of 0.090.
United Arab Emirates, with three points, and Malaysia, with one point, will now return home following their elimination from the tournament.
The winners of Group ‘A’ and the runners-up of Group ‘B’, as well as the winners of Group ‘B’ and the runners-up of Group ‘A’, will face each other in the semifinals to determine who will progress to the next stage of the ACC Women’s Emerging Team Asia Cup.
