Nepal enters final despite suffering a six-wicket loss against Malaysia

KATHMANDU: Nepal has secured a spot in the final of the MCA Women’s T20 Quadrangular Series being held in Malaysia, despite suffering a six-wicket loss against Malaysia in its final league match held in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Batting first, Nepal managed to score 83 runs while losing seven wickets in their allotted 18 overs in the rain-affected match. Malaysia successfully chased down the revised target of 85 runs, losing four wickets with 10 balls to spare.

Nepal’s batting got off to a rocky start as opener Puja Mahato was dismissed after scoring just one run. The second-wicket partnership of Kajal Shrestha and Indu Barma contributed 25 runs. Kajal scored 18 runs from 21 balls, while Indu made 20 runs from 33 balls. Rubina Chhetry added 23 runs from 26 balls. However, other Nepali batters failed to reach double-digit scores.

For the hosts, Ainna Hashim, Mahirah Ismail, and Nur Dania Samad each took two wickets, and Aisya Firdauz claimed one wicket.

Chasing a modest target, Malaysia managed to put up 20 runs for the first wicket. Although Malaysia lost wickets at regular intervals, opener Ainna Hashim and Mahirah Ismail played match-winning knocks. Ainna remained unbeaten at 37 runs from 39 balls, while Mahirah scored an unbeaten 21 runs from 24 balls.

For Nepal, Puja Mahato, Sita Rana Magar, and Rubina Chhetry each took one wicket, while one Malaysian batter ran herself out.

Nepal will now meet Hong Kong, who defeated Kuwait by 16 runs on Friday, in the final.