After losing to Hong Kong by 3 wickets, Nepal is in danger of getting out of the Asia Qualifiers of the Women's Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. After losing another rain-affected match on Tuesday, it is almost certain that Nepal will be eliminated.
The match was only possible at 5-5 overs at the AIT ground in Bangkok, Thailand due to the wetness of the field due to the previous day's rain. After losing the toss, Nepal came in to bat and could score only 29 runs after losing 3 wickets. The boundary hit by Yakan Khadka was the only boundary in the Nepali innings.
opener Yakkan scored the highest 10 runs in 7 balls from Nepal. Another opener Kavita Kunwar could score only 2 runs in 3 balls. Wai Siu dismissed both Yaman and Kavita in the second over. Pooja Mahato was dismissed for 3 runs off 5 balls. Captain Indu Burma was dismissed for 9 off 10 balls and Ruveena Chhetri 4 off 5 balls. Siu spent only 11 runs in 2 overs and took all 3 wickets that fell from Nepal.
In reply, Nepal had an excellent bowling start. Carrie Chan was run out in the first ball. Captain Natasa Mills was dismissed by Kavita two balls later. Hong Kong completed the target in 4.3 overs after opener Shanjin Shahzad scored an unbeaten 15 runs. She hit Pooja Mahato for a six in the fourth over, which was the only boundary Hong Kong hit in the match.
Hong Kong could score only 14 runs in 3 overs. Hong Kong came close to victory by adding 13 runs in the same over of Pooja. In the first ball of the fifth over, Kavita dismissed Marco Hill for 11 runs, but new batsman Yasmin Deshwani scored 3 runs in the first 2 balls to give Hong Kong victory.
The first match between Nepal and Hong Kong in the double round robin tournament was also canceled due to rain. The match in which Nepal defeated Bahrain by 9 wickets was also postponed to 5-5 overs due to rain. In Group C, Nepal has 3 points, Hong Kong has 4 points and Bahrain has 1 point. The participating 9 teams are divided into 3 groups and the top teams from each group will advance to the second round. Then after 3 teams compete against each other, the top two teams will qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup.
Nepal will play the last match of the group stage against Bahrain on Thursday. Similarly, Hong Kong will play against Bahrain on Friday. If Nepal defeats Bahrain and Hong Kong also defeats Bahrain, there is a possibility of reaching the second stage of Nepal only. Hong Kong will advance to the second round if they defeat Bahrain. If they defeat both Nepal and Hong Kong, Bahrain will reach the next stage.
