Nepal Women Cricketers corner glory

The women's national cricket team of Nepal made history by making it to the Women's T20 World Cup  Global  Qualifiers for the first time.

They finished second in the recently  concluded ICC Women’s T20 World  Cup Asia Qualifiers held in Thailand ,following their defeat to  the hosts  in the final game of the Super three stage . 

As winners and runners up Thailand and Nepal advanced  to the  Global  Qualifiers round to join eight teams to  duke it out for four  available spots for the final ICC Women’s T20 World championship round respectively. 

To be fair and not to take away any credit from Team Nepal’s success,luck favored them when the Hong Kong vs Bahrain tie was rained out. As a result,both teams were awarded a point each.

Nepal and Hong Kong were tied on 5 points ,however,the former reached the Super three stage  based on a higher number of wins.

They made the most out of the luck in the crucial fixture against the United Arab Emirates in the super three stage.

They delivered the result when it mattered most much to  everyone’s relief.They played  sensible cricket by bowling, batting and fielding consistently throughout the match.

Bowler Manisha Upadhyaya stole the limelight in the crucial game by scalping four wickets and restricting the opposition to 114 runs for seven wickets in the allocated 20 overs.Kabita Kunwar also made a handy  contribution,taking two wickets .

 

Given Nepal’s batting vulnerability,114 was a competitive  and  challenging total and they had to bat rock solid .

In the run chase they found themselves in a  spot of  bother after they were reduced to 62/4.However,the team’s most reliable and experienced batters skipper Indu Barma and Rubina Chhetri ensured  victory for the  team by sharing a valuable  37  run partnership. Barma remained unbeaten on  30,while Chhetri chipped in 23. 

Going forward to the championship round Nepal will have to undertake impactful preparations to make their presence felt.

There is plenty of room for improvement technically on all fronts of the game.The  team’s batting which is the weakest link must  improve by miles. 

The players have to  develop  a positive mindset, commit to work on their shortcomings and play to their potential.

The qualification success is an important achievement and clearly underlines the potential  of our women cricketers.

They have been  working extremely hard,putting their hearts and souls into the game to reach where they are today,over the years.

It’s  a special achievement,and a special moment for the team.They deserve our salute.Indeed this is a moment of celebration! 

Without a shred of doubt women cricket in Nepal  is on the rise despite challenges faced by cricketers for a long period of time.

There is a need for a strong revamped and meaningful structure for  domestic  cricket,coupled with improved facilities, quality coaching,adequate financial support,and greater  international exposure.

Let us not forget that women cricket received negligible attention, funding,opportunities and resources for decades. And it was never a priority for the cricket body.

Consequently,the growth and development of women’s cricket stagnated and was  on the back burner for the most part. Unsurprisingly,Nepal  lagged far  behind the rest of the world.  

There still remains a lot to  be done when it comes to upliftment  of  the game in an effective and systematic manner. What is  desperately needed  is a strong, sustained domestic  support  system and  supportive environment for  the overall development of women’s cricket .