KATHMANDU: Nepal, which aims for the Super 6 stage, was winless in the two warm-up games of the 2nd ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Of the 16 warmup games set up by the ICC across two days, January 13 and 15, Nepal faced the West Indies and the USA respectively.
The Caribbean side defeated Nepal by nine runs while the USA registered a second win in the warm-up defeating Nepal by five wickets at Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday. The USA defeated New Zealand in its first warmup game on January 13.
Nepal had lost the toss and was invited to bat first by the USA. The squad could not score enough in the first inning but was able to prevent an all-out situation. In 120 deliveries, Nepal could post a paltry target of 59 runs in the loss of nine wickets.
Opener Sana Praveen and in-at-three Puja Mahato were the only batters to score in double figures for Nepal. Surprisingly, none of the Nepali batters could score a boundary against the USA.
In response, the USA chased the target in 14 overs losing five wickets. Riya Sharma, who took three wickets, gave 15 runs in her four-over spell; her bowling performance bagged her the Player of the Match despite Nepal losing the game.
Nepal gave a tough challenge to the West Indies side but there was less expectation for Nepal challenging the USA as the latter had a good squad filled with, what the Hindustan Times stated as, an ‘all-Indian-American lineup’.
Run-out problem
The USA used nine bowlers against Nepal and six of them bagged a wicket each. On the other hand, three of the nine wickets that fell for Nepal were run-outs.
Nepal also had three run-outs against West Indies in the first warm-up game.
Even if we look at the squad’s performance in the Asia Cup in December 2024, Nepal had lost two of the four wickets in the win over Pakistan to run-outs. Nepal also had two run-outs in the eight wicket-loss while batting first against India; they also lost four wickets to run-outs in the encounter against Bangladesh.
Skipper Puja Mahato and head coach Mahesh Prasad Rijal had stated that their training camp before the World Cup focused on improving problems such as hard-hitting and running between wickets. Yet, the squad still seems to struggle over the two aspects.
Upcoming opponents
Nepal’s aim for the Super 6 will be fulfilled with at least one win in the Group Stage and qualifying as one of the Top 3 teams in the group of four.
Nepal will face Bangladesh, Scotland and Australia on January 18, 20 and 22 respectively. As Nepal lost to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, it will be a difficult tournament opener on January 18; Bangladesh has defeated Sri Lanka and England in the warm-up fixtures.
With Bangladesh and Australia almost guaranteeing two of the Top 3 spots to Super 6, Scotland will also be looking to defeat Nepal for the remaining one spot.
The ICC quoted Scotland’s head coach Kari Carswell as saying, “There’s plenty who’ve been in good form or who’ve come off a really positive summer, and I think we’ve got all bases covered in terms of our seam attack, spinners, top order batters and those in the middle and lower order.
Australia, who were the semi-finalists in the first edition, has a more experienced squad this season as five players who played in the inaugural edition are returning in the second edition.
Nevertheless, Nepal has been focusing on good cricket as they have had regular games for the past two months and the Puja Mahato-led squad is likely to surprise the world.
“We will leave a mark at the World Cup,” Mahato and coach Rijal stressed in the farewell function in Kathmandu last week.
