Dambulla: Captain Indu Barma picked a superb three-fer, while Samjhana Khadka slammed an unbeaten 72 to help Nepal register their maiden win in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup with a six-wicket victory over UAE at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Indu’s 3-19, along with a wicket each taken by Sabnam Rai, Kabita Joshi and Kritika Marasini helped Nepal restrict a more-fancied UAE to 115/8 in 20 overs.
In reply, opening in T20Is for the first time, Samjhana smashed 72 not out off 45 balls and carried her bat throughout the chase to hit 11 boundaries at a strike rate of 160 to hunt down the total with 23 balls to spare.
Pushed into batting first, UAE were in early trouble in the Power-play as captain Esha Oza was run out, while Theertha Sathish and Rinitha Rajith fell cheaply for the side to be three-down in the Power play.
In the face of accurate bowling from Nepal, Khushi Sharma top-scored with 36, while Colombo-born Kavisha Egodage chipped in with 22 to rebuild UAE’s innings. But Nepal bounced back at the back end to ensure UAE didn’t run away to post a big total.
In Nepal’s chase, Kavisha stood up to dismiss Sita Rana Magar, Kabita Kunwar and Rubina Chhetry to pick 3-12 in her four overs. But she and other UAE bowlers were unable to dislodge Samjhana from the crease, who got her fifty in 35 balls -– the first time a Nepal batter hit a half-century in the competition and held one end strong enough for her team to get a memorable win.
Brief scores: UAE 115/8 in 20 overs (Khushi Sharma 36, Kavisha Egodage 22, Indu Barma 3-19) lost to Nepal 118/4 in 16.1 overs (Samjhana Khadka 72 not out, Kavisha Egodage 3-12). IANS
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