KATHMANDU: On June 6, in Nepal’s final group-stage match of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Women’s Premier Cup held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nepal delivered its worst-ever performance in history, suffering a crushing 69-run defeat against Hong Kong.

Chasing a modest target of 109 runs, Nepal’s batting collapsed completely. The team was bundled out for a mere 40 runs in just 13.3 overs. Throughout the match, neither the top-order batters could play responsibly, nor could the middle-order steady the innings. As the comfortable target turned insurmountable, Nepal was left deeply disappointed by the massive run margin.

Following the defeat, the team is under immense pressure to prove its capability and standard. Captain Indu Barma states that Nepal’s performance against Hong Kong did not reflect their true level. “The way the batters got out was not as expected, and this has disappointed the team. Such mistakes will not be repeated now,” she says.

However, after a disappointing performance in the group stage, the quarterfinal journey does not look easy. On Wednesday, Nepal will face a strong Thailand team for a spot in the semifinals. The clash against Thailand, which has performed dominant cricket in Asian women’s cricket in recent years, is expected to be a tough test for Nepal.

From left to right: Rubina Chhetri, Sita Rana Magar, and Rubi Poddar.

Unexpected results

Nepal, which started its ACC Women’s T20 Premier Cup journey with an unexpected five-wicket defeat against China in the Asian Games Qualifiers, had subsequently registered two impressive consecutive wins. However, both of those opposing teams were weaker competitors than Nepal.

In the first match, Nepal defeated Qatar by eight wickets. Against Bhutan as well, the Nepali team put up an excellent performance to register a 51-run victory. With two wins, Nepal managed to enter the quarterfinals as the runner-up of Group ‘D’.

Sita Rana Magar (left) and Riya Sharma after taking a wicket against Hong Kong.

It seemed that Nepal had finally returned to its rhythm. However, Hong Kong completely shocked Nepal. The Nepali batting lineup, which appeared confident in the initial two matches, could not withstand Hong Kong’s bowlers. As a result, Nepal registered its lowest-ever score in Women’s T20Is.

It is not that Nepal has never faced such results before. Nepal has a history of being bowled out for 50 runs against Bangladesh and Malaysia as well. However, Hong Kong was not that strong of a team, and their level was almost identical to Nepal’s.

The unbeaten opponent

Thailand, which entered the Premier Cup after staying undefeated and winning the title in the Asian Games Qualifier tournament, has continued its dominant performance. By defeating Japan, Myanmar, Mongolia, and Bahrain, Thailand reached the quarterfinals as the winner of Group ‘A’.

Nepal has always been helpless in previous matches against Thailand, who is also a strong title contender for the Premier Cup. The first meeting between these two took place on January 19, 2019, in the Women’s T20 Smash tournament held in Thailand. In that match, while chasing the target of 122 runs set by the home team, Nepal collapsed for just 51 runs in 17.2 overs. Since then, these two teams have met seven times, and Nepal has only tasted bitter defeats in all of them.

When stepping onto the field against Thailand, one of the biggest challenges for the Nepali team will be the 22-year-old spinner, Thipatcha Putthawong. Putthawong, who took only four wickets in the Asian Games Qualifier tournament, is currently in the race to become the tournament’s highest wicket-taker by taking 10 wickets in just four matches in the Premier Cup.

Her statistics against Nepal are even more remarkable. Out of eight T20I matches against Nepal, Putthawong has played 6 matches and claimed 10 wickets. In the Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier held in Kirtipur on January 18, she took four wickets for 27 runs in four overs while restricting Nepal to 122 runs.

That defeat proved very costly for Nepal. Along with the loss, Nepal failed to reach the Super Six. Thailand, however, managed to enter the next round on the strength of that very victory. This was not the first time Putthawong acted as a barrier for Nepal at a crucial moment. In the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier held in Bangkok last year, she was the one who shattered Nepal’s dreams.

Indu Barma (right).

While restricting Nepal to 80 runs as they chased a target of 159, she took three wickets. During that spell, both openers Samjhana Khadka and Rubi Poddar, along with experienced middle-order batter Rubina Chhetry, fell victim to her bowling.

Therefore, if Nepal wants to escape the jinx of unfortunate results against Thailand in tomorrow morning’s quarterfinal, they must first neutralize Putthawong. As Captain Indu Barma said, if the Nepali team can perform according to their true standard and limit Putthawong’s impact, the result against Thailand could turn out to be different and historic.