ICC Women's U-19 T20 WC Qualifiers: Believe it or not, Nepal bowled out for mere 8 vs UAE

The ICC Women's U-19 T20 World Cup Qualifiers are underway. Meanwhile, Nepal had a match to forget as it was bundled out for a mere eight against the UAE.

Rookie teenagers from Nepal got a taste of a slightly elite level of cricket. On Saturday, the Nepalese were bowled out for hardly eight runs against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during an ICC U-19 Women's T20 World Cup qualifier game. The U-19 Women's T20 World Cup qualifier is a first of its kind and features Nepal, UAE, Thailand, Bhutan and Qatar. The winner of this five-nation tournament will qualify for the main inaugural event in South Africa next year. While the Nepalese girls had dismissed Qatar for a paltry 38 in a game earlier to win it by 79 runs, they were on the receiving end on Saturday.

The match didn't even last for an hour, with only 9.2 overs needed for its completion. No batter from either side had the scope of even reaching double-digit scores, while UAE's Theertha Sathish's unbeaten four was the highest. Six of their batters failed to trouble the scorers when Nepal batted, with Sneha Mahara's three runs off ten balls being the highest contribution. Maneesha Rana scored a couple, and three other batters contributed a run each.

Off-spinner Mahika Gaur, who opened the bowling for UAE, had incredible figures of 5/2. Her new ball partner Indhuja Nandkumar was equally effective, bagging three wickets for six in four overs. While the Nepal innings lasted only 8.1 overs, UAE attained the required runs in just seven balls. With the ICC focusing on promoting women's games at the junior level, most associate members are trying to start their junior women's programme.

Nepal doesn't have enough quality turf pitches, even for quality men's cricket. Hence, these girls deserve a lot of credit. They had already won a match in the competition and are expected to steamroll both Bhutan and Thailand. However, there is no denying that UAE, a team filled mostly with girls from the solid South Asian expatriate community, is favourite by a distance to book a flight to South Africa.

(With inputs from PTI)