KATHMANDU, JUNE 13
Nepal women's national cricket team missed an opportunity to beat Pakistan A in the ACC Women's Emerging Teams Cup at the Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok, Hong Kong today.
Nepali bowlers created a chance by bowling Pakistan A out for 87 runs in their allotted 20 overs but the batters squandered the opportunity and they managed 78-6 to face a nine-run defeat.
In another Group A match, India A outplayed Hong Kong by nine wickets to stay at the top of the table. A teams from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are in Group B along with the United Arab Emirates and hosts Malaysia.
Chasing a gettable target of 88 runs, Nepal openers Kabita Kunwar and Sita Rana Magar made a slow start scoring 16 runs in the first six overs before the latter was dismissed for six. Nepali batters then struggled to build partnership and they were reduced to 53-6 in 15.2 overs after Bindu Rawal (three), Indu Barma (four), skipper Rubina Chhetry (six) and Samjhana Khadka (seven) all fell cheaply.
Kunwar, who was dismissed in the 12th over, top scored with 20 off 32 balls that included two fours. Kabita Joshi and Jyoti Pandey added 25 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket but they failed to take the team home.
Nepal needed 35 runs from the last 28 balls when skipper Chhetry was dismissed and the seventh-wicket pair of Joshi and Pandey gave a ray of hope. But the Nepali fell 10 runs short on the target at the end.
Joshi remained unbeaten on 15 off 17 balls that included a four, while Pandey scored 11-ball nine not out. Tuba Hassan and Syeda Aroob Shah claimed two wickets each for Pakistan A, while Anosha Nasir and Umm-e-Hani bagged one apiece.
Earlier, Nepali bowlers did well to restrict Pakistan A to a below-par total. Only four batters were able to score in double figures with opener Shawaal Zulfiqar being the top scorer with 36-ball 28.
Skipper Fatima Sana was the next best with 16, while Sadaf Shamas (12) and Gull Feroza (11) chipped in valuable runs.
Indu Barma was the pick of the Nepali bowlers with the figures of 3-6 from three overs, while Kabita Kunwar (2-12), Kabita Joshi (2-16) and Sita Rana Magar (2-16) shared six wickets among them. Kunwar was named the player of the match. Nepal will face India A in their next match on Thursday.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 14, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
