Nepal ended a miserable ACC Women’s Asia Cup campaign crashing to their lowest total in women’s cricket history in a 99-run defeat against India at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday.

After making only 23 against Sri Lanka three days earlier, defending champions and Test giants India exposed Nepal’s batting frailties bundling out their South Asian neighbours for just 21 runs in 16.3 overs. India had managed to put 120-5 from 20 overs after Nepali bowlers reduced them to 69-5 by the 14th over.

In a sorry-looking scorecard, Nepal collected highest seven runs from extras, while Sarita Magar (six) was their top scorer. Four Nepali batswomen failed to open their account, while there was not a single boundary in the innings. Poonam Yadav picked up three wickets for India with Anuja Patil returning with magical figures of 2-0 off 3.3 overs. Sabbhineni Meghana also had two scalps. 

Earlier, Rubina Chhetri took two wickets, while Sarita Magar (1-12 ) and Karuna Bhandari (1-18) tightened the screws as India lost half of their team inside 70 runs. However, Shikha Pandey and Harmanpreet Kaur (14 not out) lifted the team with a 51-run unbroken partnership for the sixth wicket. Pandey top scored for the title contenders with a 32-ball 39 hitting five boundaries. Vellasway Vanitha was their next best scorer with a 14-ball 21 that included three hits to the fence. Saraswati Chaudhary was hit for 30 runs in three overs. 

The defeat saw Nepal finish at the bottom of the table without a victory in the tournament. The entire team failed to reach triple figures in a single game making 47 (against Pakistan), 23 (against Sri Lanka), 41 (against Bangladesh) and 63 (against Thailand). India have already entered final with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also in the fray.

Summary

India 120-5 in 20 overs (S Pandey 39*, v Vanitha 21; R Chhetry 2-21, SR Magar 1-12) beat Nepal 21 in 16.3 overs (S Magar 6; P Yadav 3-9, A Patil 2-0) by 99 runs

Player-of-the-match: S Pandey (IND)