Nepal’s hopes of reaching the global qualifiers in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier took a big blow after a close 7-wicket loss to Hong Kong, China in a rain-shortened match on Tuesday.
The game was reduced to just 5 overs per side due to rain. Batting first, Nepal scored 29 runs for 3 wickets. Samjhana Khadka made a good start with 10 runs from 7 balls. However, the other batters couldn’t do much. Indu Barma added sluggish 9 runs. Hong Kong’s Alison Siu bowled very well, taking 3 wickets and giving away only 11 runs in her 2 overs.
Nepal started strongly in the bowling, taking 2 wickets in the first over and keeping Hong Kong to 14/2 after 3 overs. But in the fourth over, Puja Mahato gave away 13 runs, which shifted the game. Shanzeen Shahzad stayed not out on 15 runs from 12 balls and helped Hong Kong win. Mariko Hill also added 11 runs. Kabita Kunwar took 2 wickets for Nepal, but it wasn’t enough.
With this loss, Nepal’s chances of qualifying are now very small. To have any hope, Nepal must beat Bahrain by a big margin on May 15 and also hope that Hong Kong loses badly in their last match.
Nepal’s first match against Hong Kong was washed out due to rain, while their second game against Bahrain was shortened to just 5 overs per side because of rain interruptions.
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