Nepal bowlers appeal for a wicket during their ACC Women’s Twenty20 Championship match against Hong Kong at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday. Photo courtesy: CAN

Nepal national women’s cricket team’s winning streak came to a crashing end after they lost to Hong Kong by seven wickets in the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Championship on Tuesday.

Nepal have already qualified for the semi-finals but the defeat in their last group match in Kuala Lumpur all but ends Nepal’s hopes to become winners of Group ‘B’ as Hong Kong still have a match left to play.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Nepal posted 109-6 in 20 overs. Opener Bindu Rawal scored 23 runs and captain Rubina Chhetry smashed 32 of 36 balls in her unbeaten 44-run stand with Apsari Begam.
Rawal and Sita Rana Magar gave Nepal a modest start sharing two boundaries in between them but after Hiu Ying Cheung ran out Rana Magar (9) in the fourth delivery of the fourth over, Nepal started losing wickets at regular intervals.
Chan Ka Man removed Indu Barma for a duck in the seventh over and then trapped Kajal Shrestha leg before wicket in the ninth over for just 1 run.
Chhetry came for aid but Rawal’s resistance at the crease was broken apart when she was trapped in front in the fifth ball of the tenth over by Maryam Bibi. Rawal smacked four boundaries in her 29-ball knock.
Mamta Chaudhary (7) and Kabita Joshi (4) departed cheaply but Begam provided Chhetry with a much needed support hitting 22 runs that included two boundaries in their seventh wicket partnership to guide Nepal to a moderate total.
Chhetry cracked four boundaries.
In reply, Hong Kong women chased the target with 25 balls remaining after Mariko Hill and Natasha shone with the bat at the Kinrara Academy Oval.
Rana Magar removed opener Bella Poon for 9 with 28 runs aboard.
Her opening partner Hill hit nine fours in her 32-ball 45 and shared a 41-run partnership for the first wicket with Miles (not out 28) before Sangita Rai had Hill caught by Chaudhary.
Rai then sent captain Kary Chan (17) in the 11th over but Miles kept out Nepal bowlers and completed the resounding victory with a sweep for four as Hong Kong posted 112-3 in 15.5 overs.
The win moved Hong Kong above Nepal in the Group ‘B’ standings and puts Chan’s team in a commanding position to advance as group winners as they are still to play their final group match. They meet Kuwait in Bangi on Tuesday.
In another Group ‘B’ match, Kuwait beat winless Bhutan by three wickets to pull off their first victory.
Kuwait women lie in third position with three points.
In Group ‘A’, Qatar women kept afloat their bid to qualify for the last four with a five-wicket win over Singapore.
After winning the toss and sending Singapore to bat first at the UKM-YSD Cricket Oval in Bangi, Qatar crippled Singapore batting and skittled them out for a low total of 45.
Angeline Mare was the pick of Qatar bowling with 3-12 match figures. Skipper Aysha, Hiral Agarwal, and Saachi Dhadwal took two wickets each.
In reply, Qatar’s openers Shahreen Bahadur (2) and Shrutiben Rana (6) fell flat against Singapore bowling.
Aysha was out for 7 runs and Angeline Mare contributed 8.
Dhadwal then scored 14 to lead Qatar to their second win.
Qatar are level on four points with Malaysia but the hosts sit above them in the second position due to better run rate.
Both Qatar and Malaysia have a match left but Qatar remain in disadvantage, with their next fixture against unstoppable United Arab Emirates.
Malaysia take on bottom-placed Oman in their last group match.
The UAE, the only unbeaten team in Group ‘A’, are a point ahead on top and are looking to qualify as group winners.
The semi-finals take place on Friday.
The finalists will qualify for the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup, scheduled to be played in Bangladesh in October this year.