Unbeaten Nepal move to semis

UNBEATEN Nepal cruised to the semi-final of the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship as toppers of group A with their four wickets triumph over Thailand at KOC Hubara, Kuwait, on Monday. Chasing a target of 87 runs Indu Varma stroked 40 runs as the defending champions accomplished the target in 22.3 overs with the loss of six wickets. Nepal who have eight points from four matches will now take on Bhutan in the semi-final on Thursday. Nepal’s batting which had looked solid in the last three matches was exposed by accurate bowling and sharp fielding by Thailand. The Himalayan nation lost three wickets inside five overs and were in a vulnerable position until Varma came in to rescue the team. Anuradha Chaudhary was the first to return back to the seats. Having run for the first run in no haste both the openers Shilu Rijal and Anuradha found themselves on the same end thus brining Anuradha’s innings to an early end with 10/1 in the third over. Rijal followed suit in the in the same over when she was trapped leg before by Nattakan Chantam and Nepal were 12 for the loss of two wickets. Another run out in the same over had Thailand on top as the new batter Kavita Gautam who had yet to open her score was run-out to fold Nepal to 13/3. Captain Rubina Chhetry and Indu Varma put on 28 runs together before Chhetry was bowled by Areeya in the 12th over. Varma remained calm at the other end and single handedly sailed Nepal home with two overs to spare. Earlier, sent in to field, bowlers did an excellent job for Nepal folding the hard hitting Thai batters for just 86 runs. An unbeaten 34 runs from Saengsakaorat helped Thailand put on 86 for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 25 overs. Chhetry, Santoshi Chaudhary, Sangeeta Gauchan and Varma shared a wicket each for Nepal. Nepal’s coach Nabin Singh said losing three wickets early on had Nepal on panic but an unfazed knock for Varma did the job for his team