United States of America (USA) Women, led by skipper Aditiba Chudasama, were up against Nepal Women, led by skipper Indu Barma, at the Gahanga International Cricket Stadium, Rwanda, in the 2nd match of the ICC Women’s T20 Challenge Trophy 2026. Italy defeated Rwanda by 16 runs in the first game of the tournament.
Nepal skipper Indu Barma won the toss and opted to field first. Manisha Upadhayay got Nepal off to a dream start with a double strike, removing Sainavi Kambalapalli and Isani Vaghela on successive deliveries in the first over. Wicket-keeper batter Pooja Ganesh joined Chetna Pagydyala at the crease, and the duo stitched a much-needed 75-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, getting the innings back on track.
Riya Sharma broke the stand by sending Chetna Pagydyala (30 off 37 balls) back to the pavilion in the 14th over of the innings, providing the 3rd breakthrough for Nepal. Gargi Bhogle joined Pooja Ganesh, and the pair took them past the 120-run mark with another vital 44-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Triple strikes in the final over pulled things back as the USA just managed 123/6 in their quota of 20 overs.
Pooja Ganesh (47 off 49 balls) top-scored with the bat, falling 3 runs short of a half-century. Gargi Bhogle (34 off 27 balls) chipped in with a vital contribution with the bat for the USA. There were as many as 10 extras in the innings. Manisha Upadhayay (4-0-12-2), Kabita Kunwar (4-0-17-1), and Riya Sharma (4-0-20-1) were the top performers with the ball for Nepal.
Chasing a target of 124, the Nepal batting unit struggled to come to terms with the conditions on offer, backed up by an impressive performance from the USA bowlers, making the run-scoring incredibly difficult. Bindu Rawal (27 off 45 balls) and Kabita Joshi (11 off 20 balls) were the only batters to enter the double digits with the bat for Nepal, en route to a spirited 25-run partnership for the 7th wicket between the pair, which revived their hopes in the run chase.
Nepal were eventually restricted to 79/9 in their allotted overs, falling 44 runs short of the target despite 13 extras in the innings. Maahi Madhavan (2-0-11-2), Taranum Chopra (3-0-14-1), skipper Aditiba Chudasama (4-0-13-1), Ritu Singh (4-0-14-1), and Sainavi Kambalapalli (4-0-15-1) were all impressive with the ball for the USA. Pooja Ganesh was awarded the Player of the Match.
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