KATHMANDU: In a nail-biting finish that went down to the absolute final delivery, China Women defeated Nepal Women by five wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the 3rd place play-off of the Asian Games Women’s Qualifier on May 31.

Rain disrupted the crucial encounter, forcing officials to drastically reduce the match to a frantic 7-overs-a-side shootout.

Sent in to bat first in the shortened game, Nepal’s top order crumbled early under aggressive Chinese bowling. The team suffered a massive collapse, slipping to a perilous 7/3 in the third over.

Opener Puja Mahato (1), Samjhana Khadka (5), and Rubi Poddar (0) all fell in quick succession, with China’s Ma Ruike doing the damage by picking up 2 wickets for just 5 runs.

Skipper Indu Barma provided a much-needed injection of momentum, counter-attacking with a brisk 11 off 8 balls, including a boundary.

Down order, Kabita Kunwar played a vital cameo, smashing an unbeaten 22 off just 10 deliveries (1 four, 1 six) to propel Nepal to a competitive total of 50/5 from their allotted 7 overs.

Due to the rain interruption and DLS adjustments, China’s target was revised to 43 runs from 7 overs.
China got off to a flying start, with captain Mingyue Zhu blasting 18 runs off 13 balls.

However, Nepal’s Riya Sharma turned the game completely on its head in the third over. In an extraordinary display of bowling and fielding, Sharma picked up two wickets and forced a run-out, executing a rare team hat-trick to leave China reeling at 24/3. China quickly slumped further to 27/4.

With the game hanging on a knife-edge, China’s Cai Yuzhi anchored the tail with a clutch, unbeaten 11 runs off 13 balls.

Needing 3 runs off the final over bowled by Sarita Magar, the Chinese batters held their nerve.

Despite losing Wei Haiting (5) on the fourth ball of the over, China managed to scrape the winning runs off the very last delivery of the match, ending on 45/5 and breaking Nepali hearts to secure 3rd place.