By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal managed to secure a 3-wicket victory over Bhutan in an ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier.
Invited to bat first at UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bhutan struggled to set a competitive target, posting a modest 39/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Nepal kept Bhutan under pressure since the beginning as pacer Kabita Kunwar sent back opener Ngawang Choden for a royal duck. Karma Dema, who opened the inning with Ngawang faced 27 deliveries just to contribute 1 run.
The standout performer for Bhutan was their skipper, Dechen Wangmo, who managed to score the highest of 21 runs. Unfortunately for Bhutan, the rest of the batting order faced a collapse, with Yeshey Choden, Anju Gurung, and Tshering Choden all departing for ducks. Sonam and Sonam Choden managed to add 1 and 3 runs respectively. Tshering Zangmo and Chado Om remained unbeaten with 6 and 0 runs respectively.
Nepal’s Puja Mahato proved to be the star with the ball, claiming an impressive 3-6 in her 3 overs, including one maiden. Additionally, Kabita Kunwar, Rubina Chhetry, and Khusi Dangol each secured a wicket.
In their turn at bat, Nepal faced a challenging task in chasing down the modest target. The top-order batsmen struggled, with opener Kabita Kunwar departing for a duck and Sita Rana Magar for 8 runs.
Asmina Karmacharya, Indu Barma, and Samjhana Khadka failed to score while Kabita Joshi managed to contribute 9 runs before heading back to the pavilion.
However, Nepal’s skipper, Rubina Chhetry, played a crucial not-out inning, scoring 12 runs off 23 deliveries. Puja Mahato added 3 runs before getting caught by Anju Gurung off Tshering Zangmo’s delivery, and Bindu Rawal remained unbeaten with 0 runs.
For Bhutan, Anjuli Ghalley took 3 wickets while Tshering Zangmo secured 2. Additionally, Anju Gurung and Sonam claimed a wicket each.
Earlier, Nepal defeated Malaysia by 5 runs in their first match and achieved a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bahrain in their second match. Nepal’s upcoming matches include fixtures against Qatar on Tuesday and the UAE on Wednesday. A win in either of these matches will be sufficient to propel Nepal into the semi-finals.
Even if they were to lose both games, there remains a possibility of advancing based on net run rate. Currently, both UAE and Nepal sit at 6 points, having won all three of their matches played.