Nepal defeats Pakistan, enters semifinal of U19 Women’s Asia Cup

KATHMANDU: Nepal entered the semifinal of the 2024 ACC U19 Women’s Asia Cup with a historic six-wicket win over Pakistan in Malaysia on Monday.

Batting first, Pakistan scored 104 runs for the loss of five wickets. In reply, Nepal scored 105 runs for the loss of four wickets in 19 overs.

Komal Khan top-scored for Pakistan, scoring 38 runs from 43 balls. Maham Naseer scored 29, Ravail Farhan contributed 13 runs, and Zoofishan Ayyaz hit 12 runs.

Puja Mahato took two wickets for Nepal, while Rachana Chaudhary, Riya Sharma, and Seemana KC claimed a wicket each.

Nepal will play its last group-stage match against India on Tuesday.

Captain Puja Mahato scored an unbeaten run-a-ball 47 to script Nepal’s famous victory. She received support from Sony Pakhrin, Seemana KC and Sana Praveen, who scored 13, 12, and 10 runs, respectively.

Fatima Khan and Quratulain took a wicket each for Pakistan.

The loss has ended Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals. It faced a nine-wicket defeat against India on Sunday.