Nepal women’s team on Friday (July 19) recorded a historic win as they began their 2024 Women’s T20 Asian Cup campaign on a victorious note. More than a decade after playing their first Asian Cup match, Nepal managed to record their first ever win in the competition.
Nepal women’s national team made their debut in the Asian Cup in 2012. They played 3 matches in that edition and ended up losing all of them. Nepal also qualified for the 2016 edition of the Asian Cup but failed to win any match. They played 5 matches and lost all of them.
In 2018 and 2022, Nepal failed to qualify for the Asia Cup before finally returning to the competition this year. And they have celebrated their return to the Asia Cup with a historic win. They began their campaign in the tournament with an impressive six-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates in the opening game of the tournament in Dambulla.
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Nepal claim their first ever win in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup! 🇳🇵#WomensAsiaCup2024 #ACC #HerStory #UAEWvNEPW pic.twitter.com/9QHK63MhuS
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) July 19, 2024
Nepal’s historic victory:
Nepal won the toss and opted to bowl first and their bowlers justified the decision by restricting the UAE to 115 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs. At one stage, the UAE were trailing 46 for 4 before the likes of Khushi Sharma (36 off 39) and Kavisha Egodage (22 off 26) steadied the ship.
However, the UAE failed to post a challenging total. Sharma and Egodage were the only UAE batters to reach the 20-run mark with the bat. For Nepal, captain Indu Barma shone with the ball, taking 3 for 19 in her 4 overs.
Nepal, chasing 116 runs, achieved the total in less than 17 overs by losing 4 wickets. Opener Samjhana Khadka led her team’s charge with the bat by scoring an unbeaten 72 runs. Her knock came in 45 balls and was studded with 11 fours. Except her, no Nepal batter could score more than 10 runs. For the UAE, Egodage also impressed with the ball, scoring 3 for 12 runs.
Nepal will now face Pakistan in their next match before taking on defending champions India. Meanwhile, the UAE will first face India before taking on Pakistan.