Nepal fall short in Women’s Under-19 World Cup

 

The women’s Under-19 national cricket  team of Nepal exited the ICC Twenty20 World Cup cricket championship in Malaysia,following three successive defeats.

Despite their best efforts they went down to Bangladesh,Scotland and Australia in the  league cum knockout stage.

They lost  rather convincingly to Bangladesh and Australia.Their best performance was against Scotland.They came tantalizingly close to register their first win,but they agonizingly fell short by a wicket at the end.

Nepal did break the losing streak by getting the better of hosts  Malaysia in the 4th place playoff game and ended the tournament on a winning note.

They put on an impressive performance to win the duel by seven wickets.After restricting the opposition to a paltry total of 45 runs in 16.5 overs,they cruised to victory in 11 overs for the loss of three overs.

Batting failure largely contributed to the setback for the team in the group stage.Comparatively the bowling was much better.

Skipper Puja Mahato stood out and was the most dominant player in the team,topping both batting and bowling departments.

Bowlers Rachana Chaudhary and Seemana KC had a  fairly good outing with the ball.

Agreed that the team had  very limited success,however,it does not exclude them from deserving applause.They deserve a round of applause for their efforts, grit,enthusiasm,spirit and endeavor.

Let us not forget the fact that  the talented outfit, lacking adequate international exposure and experience, competed against the best in the world  in the game’s biggest competition for the first time ever.

Their efforts to deliver a fighting performance and leave a  lasting impression were evident.

First and foremost,qualifying for the World  Cup  under challenging circumstances was  a monumental achievement.

With proper  administrative support, grassroots development initiatives,necessary facilities,and adequate financial investment, women’s cricket has the potential to achieve remarkable growth. 

The responsibility to  take women’s cricket in the right direction rests on the shoulders of the Cricket Association of Nepal(CAN).

 

But at the end of the day,cricket administrators have their say on the future of women’s  cricket.

Following the Under-19 debut in the Twenty20 World  Cup, the senior national cricket team of Nepal will be  in action in the Twenty20 International Triangular series,starting in Kathmandu from January 30th.

The competition organized by CAN features the Netherlands,Thailand and Nepal.Each team will play against the other three times.The side with the highest points will be the winners.

Team Nepal is a mix of experienced and new young talented players.It is  paramount for  players to maintain peak performance throughout the competition in order to contain the formidable opponents  and achieve the desired results.

This is one big opportunity for the hosts to prove themselves in front of their supporters.They have to maintain focus,confidence,calmness and composure under pressure.

Be it batting or bowling or fielding,they must not let their guard down.They have to rise to the occasion and make every  effort to deliver the result.