After scoring 103/5 off 20 overs, former captain Nary Thapa grabbed four wickets to bowl out the giant neighbors for 30 runs in 10.2 overs.

And, it was a happy ending for Nary. She won the man of the match award as well as the best bowler of the tournament.

At Kinrara, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first. Coming off two losses, against the two eventual finalists – Thailand and Hong Kong, Nepal had to come good in the match to save its pride; and the openers created the platform.

Neera Rajopadhyay went on hitting early on. She scored 15 off 17 balls with three fours and when she was undone by Yang Yu Xuan while Maya Rawat played patiently for her 17 off 43 balls.

Captain Ritu Kanaujiya scored 15 off 22 while Nary (7), Rekha Rawal (8*) and Sonu Khadka (7*) contributed. The biggest contributor to Nepal’s total was, however, the Chinese themselves who gave away 30 extra runs including 25 wides.

Chinese reply was disarrayed early. Rekha took a wicket each with first ball in her first two overs making it 6/2 leaving Nary to do the remaining work.

Nary bowled her four overs, gave away 10 runs – four were wides and grabbed four wickets. Ambika Budhathoki, Sonu and Rubina Chhetri each took a wicket to end China’s innings early.

China, with 12 extras, made 30 runs with four batswomen getting one each and four others failed to open account.

Nary wins the Best Bowler

For Nary, who was denied captaincy following disciplinary issues, the Best Bowler Award was a soothing one.

She was suspected for chucking in ACC U-19 where she led the team to the championship title and did not bowl in first two games of the event. She did not play against Singapore.

Then in last four matches, she bowled full quota of 16 overs giving away 34 runs and grabbed 7 wickets at an average of 2.42. She did not give away more than 10 runs in any match.

Nary’s bowling performances were: 5/5 vs Bhutan, 3/9 vs Thailand, 2/10 vs Hong Kong and 4/10 against China.

Hong Kong wins the title

Hong Kong beat Thailand to win the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Championship. Hong Kong scored 106/4 and restricted Thailand for 102/4 to register a thrilling four-run victory.

Electing to field first, Hong Kong restricted Nepal to 76/6 in 20 overs and chased the target in 16.1 overs losing just three wickets.

Nepal lost Rekha Rawal early before Neera Rajopadhyay and Maya Rawat put on a valiant fight. The pair scored very slowly early reaching only 31/1 in 10 overs.

Then onwards, they started going at freewill, netting another 31 runs in five overs. At the end of 15th over, Nepal were 62/1 and are well on the course go near 100.

But that was not a case. Neera feel to Ishita Gidwani at 28. Her knock off 47 balls included two boundaries. And, that wicket put Hong Kong back on the game.

Ritu Kanaujiya, Rashmi Sharma and Sonu Khadka failed to open their account while Nary Thapa (3) did not stay long. Neetu Thapa (3) remained unbeaten with Maya, who got 25 off 54 balls with two fours.

The final five overs yielded just 14 runs for Nepal.

Nepali bowlers could have given a fight hadn’t they bowled too many extras. Hong Kong whose score of 36/1 in 6 overs contained 12 extras.

Overall, Nepal gave away 23 extras and despite’s Nary Thapa’s another good bowling with 2/10, Hong Kong raced to the target in 16.1 overs.

Chan Sau Har got 22 off 40 while Connie Wong (15) and Emma Phippips (11 off 8 balls) took the team to the final against Thailand.

Wong, who also took 2/17, was declared player of the match.

Nepal will play China in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

Thailand bowled out Nepal for 57 in 15.1 overs to defend their total of 80/9 – thanks to player of the match Thanapan Saisud who took 4/8.

Both teams have already proceed to the semifinals and the loss means Nepal now meets Hong Kong – the strongest looking team in the tournament – on Friday. Thailand plays either China or Malaysia.

Thailand won the toss and elected to bat first on the overcast condition at the Kinrara Oval. Thai opener Pundarika Prathanmitr top-scored in the innings with 24 off 21 balls. She began by hitting two fours off Sonu Khadka’s first over.

When she was out Thailand were 29/1 in 6 overs. No other Thai women batted well, but a few runs from everyone and a large number of wides by Nepali bowlers took them to 80/9 in 20 overs – with 9 runs coming off the last over.

Former captain Nary Thapa followed up her five-wicket haul with 3/9 while Ritu Kanaujiya, Rekha Rawal, Rubina Chhetri and Sonu each picked a wicket. Two batswomen were run-out.

Nepal’s reply, Maya Rawat went out in second over and Nepal was left struggling at 26/3 in 7 overs. Nary Thapa (6) and Rashmi Sharma (2) were back by then.

Captain Ritu Kanaujiya had a 21-run partnership with Neera Rajopadhyay to bring back Nepal into track and their innings put the team in the winning position of 47/3 in 11 overs.

But Nepal lost last 7 wickets for 10 runs in 25 balls and lost the match. Neera, the innings topscorer, got 16 while skipper got 14. No other Nepali women got double-figure. For Thailand, Saisud grabbed four wickets while Nantanit Khonchan took two.

Nepal bowled out Bhutan for 31 in 15.5 overs – thanks to former captain Nary Thapa’s five wicket haul. Rest of the work was made easy that was completed in 8.4 overs losing just two wickets.

Nepal will now meet Thailand in the group winner decider on Wednesday. Nepal and Thailand have qualified from Group A with four wins from five matches.

Bhutan won the toss and elected to bat first. Bhutan did not score much runs early but preserved wickets until Nary came to bowl as fifth bowler. Bhutan was 20/0 in eight overs when she started .

Nary bowled four overs giving away five runs – four of which were wides and grabbing five wickets. She also affected a run out. Rekha Rawal took three wickets in 3.5 overs giving away 8 runs. Neera Rajopadhyay took one.

For Bhutan, the top scorer was opener Yeshi Choden who got seven off 30 balls while five of her colleagues could not open account and four others made just a run each. More than half of their total came as extras – 16 of them.

In reply, Nepal began with Manisha Rawal and Nary. Nary did not shine with bat and was out making 3 off 14 balls while Manisha scored 9 off 19 balls. Anju Gurung took both wickets who returned with a figure of 2/7.

Janaki Bhatta (7 not out) and Saraswoti BK (6 not out) completed the task for Nepal. Both hit a boundary each in a match that saw only those two boundaries.

Sonu Khadka bowled a splendid spell of 3/5 to help Nepal bowl out Qatar for 43 runs in 17.2 overs. The target was chased down in 9.1 overs for a eight-wicket win.

Qatar elected to bat first and Nepali captain Ritu Kanaujiya, bowling the opening over, gave Nepal an early breakthrough bowling out Huda Malik. It came as a relief for her as she struggled with line giving two wides before the wicket.

Rekha Rawal, sharing the new ball with Ritu, caused more damage as Ishaani Mittal was caught by Nary Thapa. It was then the Qatari downfall that did not stop until the end. Although tailenders tried to occupy crease for long, they could not score much as Qatar’s most runs came off extras (12) and topscorer was Nahan Arif (9).

Sonu Khadka bowled four overs, including two maidens, for three wickets, while Rekha, returned with 3/5 in 2.2 overs. Rubina Chhetri, after a sensational five wickets against Singapore, was on for her second hat-trick but could not complete it, took a wicket.
In reply, Neera Rajopadhyay and Maya Rawat started well adding 34 runs for opening partnership before Maya (9 off 16, with a four) was run-out.

Neera stayed till Nepal reached 40, but gave a return catch to Mittal at 18. She played 32 balls and hit a four. Former captain Nary Thapa (6 not out off 5 balls with a four) and Ritu (unbeaten 0) completed the proceedings with more than half-the-match remaining.
Nepal now meets Bhutan after a day’s rest.

Brief scorecard: Qatar 43 all out in 17.2 overs (Nahan Arif 9, Sonu Khadka 3/5, Rekha Rawal 3/5) lost to Nepal 44/2 in 9.1 overs (Neera Rajopahdya 18, Maya Rawat 9, Nary Thapa 6*) by eight wickets. Player of the Match: Sonu Khadka

When the right-arm medium pacer from Biratnagar was asked to bowl the last over, in which Singapore needed two runs for victory with five wickets remaining, hardly anyone had expected a miracle. But Rubina pulled out miracle giving away a run and grabbing five wickets including a hat-trick – the first for Nepal.

She bowled a dot in the first ball, grabbed a wicket each in next three, bowled a wide that tied the score, and grabbed two more in last two balls.

In the bowl-out to decide the winner, Neera Rajopadhyay and Rekha Rawal hit the bull’s eye for Nepal’s victory.

Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first but it suffered the worst possible start losing four wickets for 10 runs in five overs – including Neera, Maya Rawat, Rashmi Sharma and Manisha Rawal.

Captain Ritu Kanaujiya and Neetu Thapa showed some patience. Ritu got 18 off 17 balls with four boundaries while Neetu scored 11 off 21 with a four.

Sarita Magar was the top-scorer for Nepal scoring 20 off 22 balls with three fours while Ambika Budhathoki contributed 10 runs to help Nepal reach 79/9 in 20 overs.

Nepal was mainly undone by poor running between the wickets as five batswomen fell victims to run-out. Annapurna Mukherjee took two wickets for Singapore while Diviya GK and Lakhmi Hariharsan each grabbed a wicket.

Singapore took lost two wickets for 10 runs in 5 overs and it was 38/4 in 12th over. But a very good partnership between Catherine Tyler (19 off 32) and Chamitri Vidyaratne (16 off 26) took them to 74/4 before Rekha grabbed Vidyaratne leg-before.

Rajeshwari Pasupathy hit a four off next ball as Singapore inched closer before Rubina pulled a miracle in her only second international match. Rubina debuted on Friday against Iran but she did neither bat nor bowl.

Nepal now meets Qatar at Kinrara Oval on Sunday. Qatar has so far lost both its matches – against Bhutan by 45 runs and against Thailand by 50 runs.

Brief scorecard: Nepal 79/9 in 20 overs (Sariata Magar 20*, Ritu Kanaujiya 18, Neetu Thapa 11, Ambika Budhathoki 10, Annapurna Mukherjee 2/) tied Singapore 79 all out in 20 overs (Catherine Tyler 19, Chamitri Vidyaratne 16, Annapurna Mukherjee 16, Rubina Chhetri 5/12). Nepal wins 2-1 in the bowl-out. Woman of the Match: Rubina Chhetri

Neera Rajopadhyay was on top of her form scoring 39 off 58 balls with four boundaries to help Nepal score 109/3 in allotted 20 overs. Needing 110 for victory, Iran was bowled out for 47 in 15.4 overs.

Rekha Rawal was the pick of the bowler taking three wickets for 12 runs in four overs. Sharing the new ball with captain Ritu Kanaujiya, Rekha ensured early blow for Iran.

Her three wickets and a wicket for Ritu wrecked Iran making their score read 10/4 in 4.4 overs. Sonu Khadka grabbed two wickets giving away eight runs in her 3.4 overs while Neera and Ambika Budhathoki took a wicket each. Two of the Iranians bats-women were run out.

The top scorers for Iran were Parisa Afzali (10) and Minoo Hamdollahzadeh (9).

Earlier, Nepal made a brilliant start after Ritu chose to bat first. Opening with Maya Rawat and Neera, Nepal added 53 runs in 9.3 overs. Neera went first, bowled by Najmeh Hakimian while Maya, who scored 20 off 31 balls with a four, departed in 14th over bowled by Nahid Hakimian.

Former captain Nary Thapa scored run-a-ball six before being run out leaving Rashmi Sharma (13 not out off 14 balls with a four) and Ritu (7 not out off 14 balls) to conclude the proceedings.

Nepal also benefited 24 extra runs given away from Iran.

Brief scorecard: Nepal 109/3 (Neera Rajopadhyay 39, Maya Rawat 20, Rashmi Sharma 13*) defeated Iran 47 all out in 15.4 overs (Parisa Afzali 10, Rekha Rawal 3/12, Sonu Khadka 2/8) by 62 runs. Woman of the Match: Neera Rajopadhyay

Eighteen girls are in training, fighting for a place in the final 14 for the national team for the event scheduled to be held in Malaysia from July 3 to 11.

For the first time in the short history of women”s cricket, Nary will not be commanding as skipper after being replaced with Ritu Kanoujiya. However, Dias thinks this will not deter players from giving their best.

“I always ask Nary to join me whenever I talk to Ritu and vice captain Nitu Thapa because she is a senior player and knows the game well,” Dias said, adding that the girls are doing well.

“Once the final 14 is selected, it will be much easier to work on the specific sector,” he told Republica. “I am very optimistic towards Maya Rawat, Nary, Ritu and Nitu in batting.”

However, Nepal”s strength is bowling and Dias is hopeful of matchwinning performances from Sonu Khadka, Neera Rajopadhyay, Ambika Budhathoki and Nary. “If they just bowl in line and don”t give away many wide runs, we will win the tournament,” Dias said.

Nepal is in Group A along with Thailand, Singapore, Qatar, Bhutan and Iran. In Group B, host Malaysia is pitted against Hong Kong, the UAE, China, Kuwait and Oman. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals.

“Our main opponents can be hosts Malaysia or Hong Kong,” Dias speculated. “But I won”t be surprised if China pull out some unpredictable results.”

Cricket is now an official game in China”s 2010 Asian Games, and the top three teams in the tournament leaving China will qualify for the Games. As hosts, China have confirmed berth along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

“Our team is stronger than ever,” claimed Pandey. “We got 22 days in closed-camp and players are confident.”

However, Pandey confirmed that wicket-keeping needs more attention. Saraswati Lamgade and Jyoti Pandey are two wicketkeepers in the squad. Mamata Thapa, who played for Nepal in the ACC Women”s Cricket Cup held in 2007 in Malaysia was left out this time.

Pandey defended the decision saying that Mamata performed poorly in the 5th National Games.

In its two international appearances, the Nepali women team has performed good cricket. They were runners-up in the inaugural ACC Women”s Cricket Tournament held in Malaysia in 2007, losing the final to Bangladesh and the champions in the ACC U-19 Women”s Cricket Tournament 2008 in Thailand.

Nepal is favorite to win the tournament but it”s a difficult prediction to make because the team has not played much cricket – international or domestic. Malaysia and Singapore trained hard, playing a three-match friendly series, while China wants to show its strength.

Former Indian international Mamtha Maben is coaching the Chinese side and recently said she would go to Malaysia with the aim of winning the cup. “I have heard that Hong Kong and Nepal are very good sides,” she said in an interview.

Ritu is willing to give the nation something in her first stint as captain. “We are working hard and we will win,” Ritu said. “We need to improve in our fielding, ground as well as air, and apart from that I don”t see any problem in our team.”

Nepali women”s cricket climbed to new heights in a very short period, it will be more difficult now to remain in that position as others are also not far behind. The ACC Women”s Twenty20 Cricket Championship will be an acid test for them, the success providing them a unprecedented highlight as well as an opportunity in a lifetime to play against Test teams in Asia.

(As published in Republica & myrepublica.com / Photos by Bikash Karki)

For the first time since Nepal began international participation, Nary Thapa will not be captaining the side as Ritu Kanaujiya has been named the captain for the side.

Nary, who captained Nepal to the final in the ACC Women’s Cup 2007 and to the trophy in the ACC U-19 Women’s Cup 2008, is on the squad along with vice-captain Nitu Thapa, Nira Rajopadhyay, Saraswoti Lamgade, Rekha Rawal, Maya Rawat, Sonu Khadka, Rubina Chhetri, Binu Budamagar, Manisha Rawal, Rashmi Sharma, Ambika Budathoki, Sarita Magar, Jyoti Pandey, Janaki Bhatta, Keshari Chauhdary and Gita Chudal.

The squad was selected by the selection committee headed by Arun Kumar Aryal.

The ACC Women’s Twenty20 Tournament is scheduled to be held in Malaysia from July 3 to 11.