KATHMANDU, AUGUST 23
Nepal defeated Kuwait by 34 runs for their second straight victory in the MCA Women's T20 Quadrangular Series at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur today.
Batting first, Nepal posted a below-par 89-8 in their allotted 20 overs but they defended the total and restricted Kuwait to 55-8. Nepal had defeated Hong Kong by six wickets in the opening match on Tuesday.
Nepal lost opener Puja Mahatto (naught) in the second ball of the match, while Samjhana Kumari Khadka (one) was also dismissed cheaply as the team came under early pressure at 6-2. Sita Rana Magar and Bindu Rawal tried to revive the innings with a 27-run partnership for the third wicket. Nepal were reeling at 36-4 after both of them were dismissed in the space of three runs. Rawal scored 20 off 45 balls, while Rana Magar was out for seven.
Skipper Rubina Chhetry Belbashi (five) also could not spend time at the middle, while Kabita Joshi (two) and Kabita Kunwar (naught) also fell cheaply. Player of the match Indu Barma ad Kajal Shrestha added 23 runs for the eighth wicket to give some respectability to the total.
Barma top scored with 23 off 19 balls with the help of two boundaries, while Shrestha remained unbeaten on 18-ball 19 that included a four. Shrestha and Khushi Dangol (one not out) added 10 runs from the last eight balls.
Mariamma Hyder was the pick of the Kuwait bowlers taking 4-8 from four overs, while Maryam Omar grabbed 2-10. Priyada Murali and Khadija Khalil bagged one wicket each.
In reply, Kuwait batters struggled to build partnerships. Only two batters, Zeefa Jilani (11) and Khadija Khalil (10) were able to score in double figures for the team. Kuwait struck a single boundary in their innings, a four by top scorer Jilani in her 19-ball knock.
Indu Barma returned to take 3-10 from four overs, including two in as many balls in the 13th over. She bowled Shanti Balasubramaniam (six) in the first ball and trapped Kuwait skipper Amna Sharif Tariq for a golden duck in the next delivery. Khushi Dangol took 2-9, while Kabita Kunwar, Sita Rana Magar and Ishwori Bist bagged one wicket each.
In another match, Hong Kong beat hosts Malaysia by 10 wickets under DL method. Malaysia were bowled out for 68 runs in the penultimate ball of their innings. Chasing a revised target of 42 runs from 12 overs after rain interrupted the play, Hong Kong openers Yashmin Daswani (15) and Mariko Tabitha Aota (24) took the team home with 18 balls to spare.
After the day's matches, Nepal are at the top of the table with four points, while Hong Kong and Malaysia have two points each. Kuwait are yet to open their accounts. The remaining two matches of the league round - Nepal vs Malaysia and Hong Kong vs Kuwait -are slated for Friday. Top two teams after Friday's matches will advance to final.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 24, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
