Nepal, confident that it had already won half the war, started the chase. Even though the powerplay was identical to the UAE’s, Samjhana Khadka managed to hold on despite the wickets falling at regular intervals.
In the first match of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024, Nepal Women faced United Arab Emirates Women on July 19 at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium in Dambulla. After winning the toss, Nepal decided to field first. UAE suffered an early setback when, with just 36 runs scored, they lost three wickets during the powerplay. Esha Oza, Rinith Rajith, and Theertha Satish left the game with respective scores of 10, 6, and 9.
Nepal, confident that it had already won half the war, started the chase. Even though the powerplay was identical to the UAE’s, Samjhana Khadka managed to hold on despite the wickets falling at regular intervals.
Following suit, Samaira Dharnidharka scored 13 runs during a 32-run partnership between Khushi Sharma and Kavisha Egodage for the fifth wicket. After making contributions of 22 and 36, respectively, the pair left, and the lower order fell apart like a house of cards. On a slower pitch, UAE only scored 115 runs, while Nepal’s captain, Indu Barma, shone with three wickets.
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While helping the rampaging Samjhana Khadka, Sita Rana Magar and Kabita Kunwar only scored 7 and 2 runs, respectively. Khadka toiled in the middle as Indu was unable to repeat her amazing bowling while batting.
Samjhana Khadka goes all out to defeat the UAE and leave a lasting impression.
Against a slow pitch, she single-handedly carried Nepal’s innings to victory with key boundaries to support her cause when other batsmen stumbled. Once Rubina Chhetry staggered back and scored ten runs, Nepal was just inches away from a historic victory. After defeating the ACC Premier Cup winners by six wickets and 3.5 overs remaining, Nepal began their campaign on a positive note thanks to a match-winning innings of 72 off 45 played by Khadka.
Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to Nepal’s win over UAE:
Highest Individual Scores against UAE Women in Women’s T20 Asia Cup
75* : Jemimah Rodrigues at Sylhet, 2022
𝟳𝟮* : Samjhana Khadka at Dambulla, TODAY**
64 : Deepti Sharma at Sylhet, 2022
57 : Aliya Riaz at Sylhet, 2023#WomensAsiaCup2024 #UAEWvNEPW— Kishan Kishor (@itskishankishor) July 19, 2024
SAMJHANA KHADKA YOU BEAUTY!!! WHAT A 50! WHAT AN INNINGS! 🫡 #UAEWvNEPW #HerGameToo
— Agadh (@iamagadh) July 19, 2024
1⃣0⃣0⃣ up!
NEP: 102-4 (15)#AsiaCup2024 | #WomensAsiaCup2024 | #ACC | #UAEWvNEPW
— Women’s CricInsight (@WCI_Official) July 19, 2024
YESSSSSSSSSS COME ONNNN LADIESS! Absolutely deserved this win. Clinical. Hopefully this Samjhana Khadka innings inspires a new generation of Nepali girls across the country! #WomensAsiaCup #UAEWvNEPW
— Agadh (@iamagadh) July 19, 2024
Nepal Women registered a historic win against UAE Women in the opening game of Women’s Asia Cup 2024👏#SamjhanaKhadka #InduBarma #UAEWvNEPW #UAEWvsNEPW #AsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup2024 #AsiaCup2024 #Cricket #SBM pic.twitter.com/IYzyOt0Db2
— SBM Cricket (@Sbettingmarkets) July 19, 2024
Maiden win for Nepal in Women’s Asia Cup. 🇳🇵🔥
They won by 6 wickets in the opening game of Women’s Asia Cup 2024 against UAE. 👏
A brilliant start to the tournament by them. 🌟#AsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup2024 #UAEWvNEPW pic.twitter.com/0qbHGpeVpX
— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) July 19, 2024
Nepal secure their first-ever win in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup history! 🇳🇵👏
The emotions say it all ❤️#UAEWvNEPW #ACC #AsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup2024 pic.twitter.com/Ra8gjOKvHO
— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) July 19, 2024
𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄 ❤️🥺
Nepal secure their first-ever win in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup history! 🇳🇵#WomensAsiaCup2024 #ACC #HerStory #UAEWvNEPW pic.twitter.com/9QHK63MhuS
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) July 19, 2024