[Watch] Nepal Women defeat UAE Women to win their first-ever match in Asia Cup

Nepal Women’s Cricket Team created history when they defeated United Arab Emirates Women in the first match of the Women's Asia Cup T20, 2024, on Friday, July 19, at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. This was their first-ever win in Asia Cup history.

Chasing a target of 116, Nepal's opener Samjhana Khadka remained unbeaten on 72 runs off 45 balls, hitting 11 boundaries in her inning. Khadka became the first-ever player from the Nepal women’s team to score a half-century in the format as she single-handedly won the game for her team. Nepal won the match by six wickets with 23 balls remaining.

Here’s the video of the historic moment:

Apart from Samjhana Khadka, all the other Nepal batters struggled to score freely. Opener Sita Rana Magar only managed to score seven runs off 17 balls. Kabita Kunwar was caught on two of 10 balls. Captain Indu Barma scored six runs on 10 balls.

However, it was Khadka's day, who played a brilliant knock to take Nepal to a historic win. Meanwhile, for the UAE, Kavisha Egodage bowled a brilliant spell. She took three wickets in her four overs and only conceded 12 runs.

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Indu Barma shines with the ball for Nepal in the first innings

After being asked to bat first, the United Arab Emirates Women didn’t start well as they lost three wickets within the powerplay. Kavisha Egodage (22 off 26 balls) and Khushi Sharma (36 off 39 balls) played a decent hand for the UAE as they finished their innings at 115/8 in their 20 overs.

Captain Indu Barma led from the front for Nepal. She took three wickets in her spell of four overs and only conceded 19 runs. In the second innings, it was Samjhana Khadka’s show as Nepal started the tournament on a winning note.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Women have won the toss and chose to bat first in the second game of the Women's Asia Cup against India Women.

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