KATHMANDU: Captain Indu Barma's unbeaten 42 helped Nepal Women defeat Indonesia Women by four wickets and reach the semi-finals of the Asian Games Women’s T20I Qualifier on Thursday.
Chasing 114 at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, Nepal reached 114/6 with three balls to spare. The win took Nepal to the top of Group B with two wins from two matches.
Nepal will now face hosts Malaysia in the semi-final. The other semi-final will be played between Thailand and China. The top three teams from the qualifier will book their places in the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Nepal made a poor start in the chase. Openers Samjhana Khadka and Puja Mahato were dismissed for 1 and 9, while Rubi Poddar fell without scoring.
Indu then rebuilt the innings with Sony Pakhrin. The pair added 45 runs for the fourth wicket before Sony was dismissed for 29 off 36 balls with three fours.
Indu also shared a 34-run stand with Kabita Kunwar, who made 14 off 14 balls. Indonesia came back late when Ni Ariani removed Kabita and Rubina Chhetry in successive balls.
But Sita Rana Magar finished the match for Nepal. She struck three fours in six balls and remained unbeaten on 13. Indu stayed not out on 42 off 43 balls, hitting five fours.
Earlier, Indonesia posted 113/4 after choosing to bat first. Captain Nanda Sakarini led their innings with an unbeaten 56 off 62 balls.
Indonesia lost both openers inside two runs, but Sakarini and Ni Luh Dewi added 65 runs for the third wicket. Dewi scored 23 off 33 balls, while Putri Suwandewi made 12.
Manisha Upadhayay was Nepal’s best bowler. She took 2/9 from four overs. Riya Sharma picked up 1/17.
Nepal had opened the tournament with a 19-run win over China on Wednesday.
