The Nepalese national women’s cricket team secured a historic victory against Maldives women in the final group-stage match of the ACC Women’s Premier Cup. Nepal bowled out Maldives for a mere 13 runs, achieving an outstanding 214-run win. This remarkable triumph ranks as the 11th biggest victory in terms of runs in women’s T20I.
Nepal clinched the top spot in Group D with an impressive victory, winning all three matches. Their next challenge awaits in the quarterfinals against Kuwait. Should they secure a win in the quarterfinal, Nepal will advance to the semifinals, where they will face the winner between Japan and Malaysia. A successful outcome in the semifinal would guarantee Nepal a spot in the upcoming Women’s Asia Cup.
Opting to bat first, Nepal piled up a mammoth total. They were 61/4 in the seventh over and then the duo of Rubina Chhetri and Puja Mahato added unbeaten 166 runs for the fifth wicket. This is the highest ever partnership for Nepal in WT20I matches.
Rubina became the first centurion for Nepal in women’s T20I and remained unbeaten for 118* runs. She smashed 10 fours and five sixes in her 59-ball knock. Meanwhile, Puja also became only the fourth half-centurion for Nepal. She scored 36-ball 59* with five fours and one six.
In response, Maldives were bowled out for a mere 13 runs in 13.5 overs. They are yet to score 20-run mark against Nepal in the previous three T20Is. Ashmina Karmacharya was the pick of a bowler for Nepal, grabbing four wickets (4-2-7-4). Rubina Chhetri and Puja Mahato also grabbed three wickets each. Skipper Sumayya Abdul scored the highest, five runs for Maldives.
Nepal started the tournament with a commanding eight-wicket win over Hong-Kong, followed by an eight-wicket win itself against Bhutan.
