Nepal qualified for the upcoming Asia Cup by the virtue of beating China on the final day of the ICC Women’s World Cup Asia Qualifiers and finishing on the second place of the tournament. It had already missed the chance to qualify for the World Cup the day before, losing out to Thailand in a one-wicket thriller.
Nepal finished on six points after the win against China, four points below winners Thailand and two points clear of China and Hong Kong, who only amassed four points each. This enabled Nepal to qualify for the Asia Cup, which will be played at the end of the year. Besides Nepal, hosts Thailand and the four Asian Test nations – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – will participate in the event.
Easy victory against China (Scorecard)
Winning the toss and batting first at the Mong Kok ground, China could only manage 85/6 off their 20 overs. Openers Zou Miao (18) and FengFeng Song (34) were the only major contributors to the innings, with Chai Yudian (10) being the only other player to reach double digits. Captain Rubina Chhetri picked up two wickets while Nirmala Shahi and Karuna Bhandari picked up a wicket apiece.
Nepal lost a few more wickets than it desired chasing the modest target but eventually got there with six wickets down in the 18th over. Neri Thapa (22) and Sita Rana Magar (20) were the main architects of the win. Captain Chhetri hit the winning boundary in the end to finish unbeaten on 13 to finish the game. Coupled with her bowling efforts, she was declared the player of the match.
Featured Image Credit: ZapStudio HK
