Skipper Indu Barma’s three-fer followed by Samjhana Khadka’s unbeaten maiden half-century powers Nepal to their first-ever victory in the Asia Cup.
The 5th edition of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup gets underway on 19th July (Friday), in Dambulla Sri Lanka. Nepal women’s team led by skipper Indu Barma was all set to face the United Arab Emirates led by skipper Esha Oza in the tournament opener.
Nepal women’s skipper Indu Barma won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, UAE got off to a steady start, before skipper Esha Oza was found short of her crease to provide the first breakthrough for Nepal in the 2nd over of the innings. Rinitha Rajith soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Nepal.
Samaira Dharnidharka joined wicket-keeper batter Theertha Satish at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 15-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Skipper Indu Barma picked up the wicket of Theertha Satish to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. Samaira Dharnidharka soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for Nepal.
Khushi Sharma joined Kavisha Egodage at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 32-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark. Kritika Marasini picked up the wicket of Kavisha Egodage to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side. Heena Hotchandani joined Khushi Sharma at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 29-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. UAE eventually ended up with a total of 115/8 in their quota of overs.
Khushi Sharma (36 off 39 balls), Kavisha Egodage (22 off 26 balls), and Samaira Dharnidharka (13 off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the UAE. Skipper Indu Barma (4-0-19-3), Rubina Chhetry (4-0-18-0), Kritika Marasini (2-0-15-1), and Sabnam Rai (3-0-27-1) were the top performers with the ball for Nepal.
Chasing a target of 116, the Nepal openers Samjhana Khadka and Sita Rana Magar got off to a good start with a 39-run opening partnership, scoring around eight runs an over inside the powerplay. Kavisha Egodage picked up the wicket of Sita Rana Magar to provide the first breakthrough for the UAE. Kabita Kunwar soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the UAE.
Skipper Indu Barma joined opening batter Samjhana Khadka at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 23-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side closer to the target. Lavanya Keny picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Indu Barma to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. Rubina Chhetry joined Samjhana Khadka at the crease and the duo stitched a 15-run partnership 4th wicket. Kavisha Egodage cleaned up Rubina Chhetry to provide the 4th breakthrough for the UAE.
Puja Mahato joined Samjhana Khadka at the crease and the duo took their side over the line with a 29-run 5th wicket partnership. Nepal sealed their maiden victory in the history of the Women’s Asia Cup by six wickets and 23 balls to spare. Opening batter Samjhana Khadka (72 off 45 balls), and Rubina Chhetry (10 off 8 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Nepal. Kavisha Egodage (4-1-12-3), and Lavanya Keny (1-0-9-1) were the top performers with the ball for the UAE.
Samjhana Khadka was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance (72 off 45 balls) with the bat. She notched her International maiden half-century and stayed unbeaten to guide her side over the line in a historic victory for Nepal. The Indian team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will face Pakistan led by skipper Nida Dar in the 2nd match of the opening day of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024.