The series between Bahrain Women and Nepal Women at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok went through a turn Nepal’s way in a straightforward way. Having beaten the Bahrain by 9 wickets chasing 45, it was five over match.
Match: Bahrain Women vs Nepal Women
- Venue: Terdthai Cricket Ground
- Toss: Won by Nepal Women who elected to bowl
- Timezone: All times are in Nepal Time
Result: Nepal Women won by 9 wickets
Player of the Match: Kabita Kunwar – 0/6 (2 overs) & 18 runs (11 balls)
Bahrain Women Innings: Quick-Fire Start Though Short-Lived
Being asked to bat first, Bahrain women were however made to set a chase to 41 for 1 in an incredible 5 overs with a brilliant captain’s knock by Deepika Rasangika unbeaten at 34 off just 13 balls that included two boundaries. Yet none of the others really made any attempt at firing them to a successful chase.
- Zayneb Fazil made 2 from 5 balls before being bowled by Zhujul Basumurti.
- From the other end, Tharanga Gajanake stayed not out having scored just 3 off 12 balls with a defensive mode towards extending the inning.
- It was a horror for Sabnam Rai, who was hit for 20 runs in 1 over only.
They were picket bowlers from one end in 2/6-2. While Puja Mahato bowled well for 1 wicket and gave 13 in 2 overs, Kabita Kunwar was also very impressive.
Nepal Women’s Chase: Classy Finish Nepal’s chase almost made an innings by themselves, scoring their 42 for loss of 1 wicket by 4.2 overs. * Kabita Kunwar, who was making some good connection with the bat right now, was batting with a lot of rhythm, having scored 18 runs from 11 balls until she gave a nick behind. * Samjhana Khadka played his part with a very nice and useful 13 from 10 balls, including a boundary off one over, Indu Barma letting off steam with 7 from 5 balls, with one wicket being taken by Deepika Rasangika, bowling only 2 balls, conceding 2 runs.
The bowlers from Bahrain leaked runs at an alarming rate, with Pavithra Shetty (0/9 in 1 over) and Tharanga Gajanayake (0/12 in 1 over) being the worst hit.
Kabita Kunwar’s all-round show: Player of the match with some outstanding batting and bowling performances. Deepika Rasangika really was the star for Bahrain in this game.
Conversely, that slapdash effort from the team really let the player down. The depth in Nepal’s bowling could not be underestimated with every bowler testing the money, especially in the power play which pulled back the opposition to a below-par total. Nepal’s running was efficient: Turning out under lights to chase, there were no nerves from the team on display, completing the task inside five overs.
The match underscored the developing supremacy in T20 cricket emanating from the remarkable performances of Nepalese women. If such consistent performances continue from budding talent like Kabita Kunwar, along with the experience of Indu Barma, in the years to come, surely success for Nepal, first regionally and then internationally, is a guarantee.
This was a very important game for the Bahrain Women to build their partnerships in the middle order and to cut down on runs around the important overs, hence acting as a silver lining of learning for them. Stick to the coverage for further game updates and minute-in-minute previews of the ongoing match between women sports warriors from Bahrain and Nepal and some other wonderful women cricketing action.