Nepal is to take on Bhutan in its first match of the ACC Women’s Championship on Thursday at the Prem Oval, Thailand.
It is the second meeting between the two national sides in women’s cricket. Nepal had met Bhutan in the ACC Women’s T20 Championship in 2009 and won the match by eight wickets. Nepal had bowled Bhutan for 31 runs in 15.5 overs and met the target in 8.4 overs losing two wickets.
Nepali and Bhutanese woman cricketers have clashed twice in the agegroup tournaments. Nepali U-19 girls had defeated Bhutan by six wickets in the final of the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship in 2010 and had pulled three-wicket victory in the semifinal of the 2012 edition of the same tournament. Captain Rubina Chhetri, Sonu Khadka, Silu Rijal and Indu Verma were the part of the U-19 team that clinched the ACC title for the consecutive third time in 2012.
As the tournament is the first step to reach the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Nepali team is aiming to win the title. The winner of the ACC Women’s Championship will qualify to play ICC World T20 World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Ireland in August.
Bhutan thrashed Malaysia by 32 runs as the ACC Women’s Championship kicked off in Thailand on Wednesday. Bhutan put up 133/4 in allotted 25 overs and restricted Malaysia to 101/6 at the end.
As Afghanistan pulled out of the tournament, Nepal enjoyed a day off in the opening day of the tournament.
Likewise, Hong Kong beat the UAE by four wickets on Wednesday while Thailand thrashed Qatar by 10 wickets. Meanwhile, China pulled a huge 167-run victory over Iran and Kuwait defeated Singapore by nine wickets in the opening day of the tournament.
Though Nepal had finished runner-up in the first edition of the championship when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) introduced it in 2007, Nepal had to settle for the third and fourth position in the second and third editions respectively.