Nepal-W vs Uganda-W, 3rd T20I Review: Visitors win a low-scoring game to take unassailable 3-0 lead

After taking a lead in the series, Uganda Women went on to win the third game to extend their lead against Nepal Women, and seal the deal with the third straight victory. Winning the toss, Nepal elected to bat first. As Uganda already had a lead in the series, this was a must-win game for Nepal.

Nepal did not have a good start as they lost opener Bindu Rawal (4 off 3) early in just the second over of the game. But Jyoti Pandey put up a brilliant performance to keep the team’s hopes high. Top-order batter Sita Rana Magar also could not do much with the bat and had to walk back scoring a 25-ball 12 runs as Pandey kept striving for a good partnership.

The middle-order collapsed in the blink of an eye as Indu Barma, Sarita Magar and Roma Thapa lost their wickets as soon as they entered the game. The three batters added just four runs in total. Pandey (47 off 54) fell short of just three runs to get a deserving half-century, but fate did not favour Nepal. Rubina Chhetry (18 off 15) looked to add some good runs and remained unbeaten till the end, but the visitors scalped a couple of more wickets to end the innings.

Kevin Awino’s unbeaten stand helps Uganda clinch the series

Coming to the chase, Uganda had a target of just 100 runs in their 20 overs slot. Just like the hosts, the visitors also faced a massive blow when opening batter Leona Babirye (5 off 6) fell early in the third over. But Kevin Awino and Janet Mbabazi stitched a 67-run partnership for the second wicket, with the former taking charge of the game.

Mbabazi (27 off 39) lost her wicket to Barma towards the end, but not much was left to be achieved. Awino (42* off 51) fought like a warrior till the end and stood tall against Nepal’s bowling unit as Uganda clinched their third victory of the series, thereby confirming the trophy. With a 3-0 lead in the series, and two more games remaining, the visitors will eye a whitewash over the hosts.