Nepal led by skipper Indu Barma is hosting the Netherlands led by skipper Babette de Leede and Thailand led by skipper Naruemol Chaiwai for a tri-series in Nepal that will be played in the triple round-robin format from 30th January 2025 (Thursday) to 7th February 2025 (Friday).
Nepal faced Netherlands in the first match of the tri-series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
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Robine Rijke’s fifty and Iris Zwilling’s cameo powers the Netherlands to 157/4
Nepal’s new ball bowlers Kabita Kunwar and Puja Mahato got their side off to a commanding start by removing a couple of quick wickets, including the wicket of the opposition skipper Babette de Leede in the first couple of overs in the innings. Robine Rijke joined Sterre Kalis at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 47-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Sita Rana Magar cleaned up Sterre Kalis (29 off 35 balls) in the 11th over of the innings to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the home side.
Heather Siegers joined Robine Rijke at the crease and the pair took their side past the 100-run mark with a crucial 54-run partnership for the 4th wicket, before Ishwori Bist picked up the wicket of Heather Siegers (23 off 19 balls) to provide the 4th breakthrough for Nepal. A blazing unbeaten cameo from Iris Zwilling (31* off 13 balls) took them to a solid total of 157/4 in their quota of 20 overs.
Robine Rijke notched up her 3rd T20I half-century (59* off 48 balls) and stayed unbeaten through the rest of the innings for the Netherlands. The trio of Robine Rijke, Heather Siegers, and Iris Zwilling made a massive contribution of around 72% of their team’s total. Kabita Joshi (4-0-24-0), Kabita Kunwar (2-0-14-1), Ishwori Bist (3-1-24-1), and Puja Mahato (3-0-25-1), and Sita Rana Magar (3-0-25-1) picked up a wicket each with the ball for Nepal.
The Netherlands spinners restrict Nepal to register a convincing victory
Chasing a challenging total of 158, the Nepal batters kept losing wickets at regular intervals and as a result, they were restricted to 137/7 in their quota of overs, falling 20 runs short of the target. The lack of substantial partnerships throughout the run chase ended up hurting them in the run chase. The 34-run 5th wicket partnership between Puja Mahato (24 off 14 balls) and the opening batter Sita Rana Magar (28 off 45 balls) was the highest partnership of the run chase for Nepal.
Kabita Joshi (27 off 17 balls), and Rubina Chhetry (11 off 11 balls) were the other two batters to enter the double digits with the bat for Nepal. Eva Lynch (4-0-30-2), and Caroline de Lange (4-0-36-2) picked up a couple of wickets each with the ball for the Netherlands, while Iris Zwilling (4-0-11-1), and Silver Siegers (4-0-17-0) were impressive with the ball for their side.
Robine Rijke was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant unbeaten half-century (59* off 48 balls) with the bat, playing a crucial role in helping her side post a solid total on the board before the bowlers delivered a comfortable victory against the hosts, Nepal in the Tri-series opener.
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