Puja Mahato and Rachana Chaudhary power Nepal U19 to a dominating win against Malaysia U19

The hosts Malaysia led by skipper Nur Dania Syuhada were knocked out by the West Indies courtesy of a 53-run defeat in their last league game of the ongoing 2nd edition of the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup 2025. Nepal led by skipper Puja Mahato were knocked out by Australia courtesy of an 83-run defeat in their last league game of the tournament.

Puja Mahato and Rachana Chaudhary power Nepal U19 to a dominating win against Malaysia U19
Puja Mahato and Rachana Chaudhary power Nepal U19 to a dominating win against Malaysia U19

We are on the 7th day of the ongoing 2nd edition of the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup 2025. A total of 12 teams, namely, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies from Group A, England, USA, Ireland from Group B, South Africa, Nigeria, New Zealand from Group C, Australia, Bangladesh and Scotland from Group D have made their way into the Super Six stage of the tournament.

Pakistan led by skipper Komal Khan defeated Samoa led by skipper Avetia Mapu by 52 runs in the 1st game of the 4th place play-off at the Johor Cricket Academy Oval. Nepal was up against the hosts Malaysia in the 2nd game of the 4th place play-off at the same venue.

The Nepal bowlers wreaked havoc, wrapping Malaysia up for 45 with 19 balls to spare, after skipper Puja Mahato won the toss and opted to field first. Skipper Puja Mahato led from the front with the ball (3.5-0-9-4) in her exceptional match-defining spell, alongside Rachana Chaudhary (3-1-5-3), Riya Sharma (4-1-5-1), and Seemana KC (3-0-9-1).

Nuriman Hidayah (15 off 23 balls) was the only Malaysian batter to get into the double digits. Chasing a target of 46, the Nepal batters had a little bit of a stutter, losing their top order inside the powerplay.

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However, skipper Puja Mahato (23* off 32 balls) took the matter to her hands, guiding her side over the line alongside Seemana KC (4* off 10 balls) with 7 wickets in hand and 9 overs to spare, courtesy of an unbeaten 25-run partnership for the 4th wicket which also happened to be the highest partnership of the run chase for Nepal.

Marsya Qistina Abdullah (4-0-18-3) was the only wicket-taker with the ball for Malaysia and gave some hope to the hosts of pulling off something spectacular but wasn’t to be. Suabika Manivannan (3-0-10-0), and skipper Nur Dania Syuhada (3-1-15-0) were impressive with the ball for their side.

The Nepal skipper Puja Mahato was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational all-round show for her side. She returned with exceptional match figures of 3.5-0-9-4 in her match-defining spell with the ball and stayed unbeaten on 23* (32 balls) with the bat to guide her side over the line to sign off their campaign in the ongoing 2nd edition of the tournament on a high with a massive dominating victory over the hosts.

She is also currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 9 wickets at a sensational average of 7 and an economy of 4.34 in four innings with the ball for her side. Her spell against the hosts, Malaysia was also her best performance with the ball for her side in the tournament.

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