Nepali girls showed they are not far behind from the male cricketers by beginning the ACC Women’s Tournament with a 55-run victory over Thailand at the IPTI, Johar Bahru, Malaysia on July 12.
Madhu Thapa anchored the innings with 36 runs off 75 balls to help Nepal accumulate 95/8 in allotted 30 overs. Captain Nary Thapa then took four wickets to bowl out Thailand for 40 runs in 20.1 overs.
After electing to bat first, Nepali girls began slowly reaching 16/2 in 6.5 overs. But then Madhu, a former U-19 footballer, added 43 runs with Saraswoti BK, who got only 7 runs off 45 balls.
Binu Buda Magar was the only other batswoman to reach double figure scoring 10 off 14 balls. She added 25 with Madhu for the fifth wicket. Madhu was out on 95 as Nepal lost four wickets in last two overs in attempt to getting quick runs.
Thailand’s bowling was below par as they gave away 30 wides – 33 extra runs in total. Wanwipa Changsomboon and Supapan Lakkanapan took two wickets each.
In reply, Thailand batted poorly against disciplined bowling. None of Thai girls reached the double figure and higheest individual score was 6 made by Nantanit Konchan.
Captain Nary led from front taking four wickets in her six overs as the first change bowler. Nira Rajopadhyay took two – one each with her first and last ball of the spell consisting seven balls.Keshari Chaudhary, opening pair Sita Rana and Ritu Kanoujiya each took a wicket.
Nepal will play the second league match on Saturday, July 14 agaisnt hosts Malaysia who lost to Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Brief Scorecard: Nepal 95/8 in 30 overs (M Thapa 36, B Buda Magar 10) defeated Thailand 40 all out in 20.1 overs (N Thapa 4/5, N Rajopadhyay 2/2) by 55 runs.
Photo Courtesy Asian Cricket Council