Nepal pulled off an exciting five-wicket win over the UAE with three balls to spare in the second match of the Super Three at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, held at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok on Monday.
UAE had also lost their first Super Three match against Thailand by 54 runs, and thus, they have failed to qualify for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup global qualifier. The top two teams from this tournament will advance to the global qualifier. With the UAE having lost both matches, the result of the Nepal–Thailand match on Tuesday will now be inconsequential.
Nepal’s bowling performance
Nepal won the toss and elected to field. UAE skipper and opener Esha Oza, along with Theertha Satish, put on 45 runs in the first 10 overs before Theertha was dismissed for 21 by Ramati Airee, caught by Rubina Chhetry. Her 32-ball knock included two boundaries.
Lavanya Keny then joined Esha and took the score to 69 before Esha’s run-a-ball 39 came to an end, caught by Riya Sharma off Manisha Upadhayay in the 13th over. UAE needed quick runs to boost their total, but in the 15th over, Manisha struck again, dismissing Keny for 12, caught by Indu Barma. At that point, UAE were 77 for 3 with five overs remaining.
In the 17th over, Manisha trapped Michelle Botha leg before wicket for 3. Heena Hotchandani, who kept the scoreboard ticking, became Manisha’s fourth victim, bowled for 20 off 16 balls.
In the final over, Kabita Kunwar got Keziah Miriam Sabin caught by Riya Sharma for 5 and also trapped Vaishnave Mahesh leg before for a duck on the last ball of the innings.
Manisha finished with impressive figures of 4 for 20 from her four overs, while Kabita claimed 2 wickets for 18 runs in her four overs. UAE were restricted to 114 for 7 in their 20 overs.
Nepal’s run chase
UAE’s opening bowler Athige Silva bowled a tight first over, conceding just two runs. In the second over, opener Samjhana Khadka hit a boundary to square leg off Michelle. She then struck two consecutive boundaries off Athige in the third over. Suraksha Kotel checked the scoring by bowling a maiden in her first over. Meanwhile, fellow opener Rajmati Airee struck a boundary off Heena to mid-wicket. By the end of the fifth over, Nepal were 26 without loss.
In the final over of the powerplay, Rajmati was run out by Michelle for 8. In the eighth over, Suraksha had Samjhana caught and bowled for 21. Her 27-ball innings included three boundaries. To tighten UAE’s grip, Vaishnave dismissed Kabita Kunwar, who was caught by Heena for 5.
Puja Mahato and captain Indu Barma then built a crucial 24-run partnership. The pair took the score to 62 in 12.3 overs before Michelle had Puja stumped by Theertha for 13.
Rubina Chhetry then struck a boundary off Katie Thompson and followed it up with two more off Michelle. Indu also began scoring freely, hitting a boundary off Kate. However, Esha ended Rubina’s quickfire knock by having her caught by Heena for 23. Her 18-ball innings featured three boundaries. Nepal reached the 100-run mark in the 18th over.
Nepal needed 10 runs off the final nine balls. Indu hit a boundary off Heena to fine leg on the fifth ball of the 19th over, reducing the requirement to just four runs in the final over.
Esha bowled the last over. She gave away a single to Rubi Poddar off the first ball, and Indu picked up two runs to mid-wicket. Indu then scored the winning run—again to mid-wicket—dashing UAE’s hopes. She played a brilliant unbeaten captain’s knock, scoring 30 runs off 28 balls with two boundaries. Her 37-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Rubina was crucial to Nepal’s victory.
Brief scores:
Nepal bt UAE by five wkts. UAE 114 for 7 in 20 overs (Esha Oza 39, Theertha Satish 21, Heena Hotchandani 20, Kabita Kunwar 2 for 18, Manisha Upadhayay 4 for 20) Nepal 115 for 5 in 19.3 overs (Samjhana Khadka 21, Indu Barma 30n.o, Rubina Chhetry 23)
Player of the Match: Indu Barma
