Nepal-W vs Uganda-W, 5th T20I Review: Hosts end on a high note as visitors clinch the series

Nepal Women ended the series on a high note by defeating Uganda Women in the final T20I of the five-match series. After Uganda had taken a 3-0 lead in the series, thereby clinching the trophy, Nepal bounced back stronger to put up a tough fight to win the final two games and finished the last game with a 33-run victory.

Uganda won the toss and put Nepal to bat first. After Jyoti Pandey struggled to score a single run in the first over, Sita Rana Magar took the charge in the next over to hit a couple of boundaries and kick-start the game. A handful of mistakes by the Uganda bowler Patricia Malemikia cost their side big as Nepal openers scored 16 runs off the third over. The duo went strong till the eighth over, before Phiona Kulume scalped Magar for a 24-ball 17.

Indu Barma (8 off 12) joined Pandey on the crease but did not get much chance to bat as the latter took charge of the game. Barma’s dismissal brought in Kabita Joshi who added some quick runs on board to mark her arrival. The final three overs of the first inning ended on a thrilling note, as Uganda scalped four wickets towards the end and Pandey (49 off 61) fell short by just one run to get her half-century.

But thanks to the power-hitting abilities of Joshi (18* off 15) and Apsari Begum (11 off 5), Nepal posted 123/5 on the board putting a huge target for Uganda to chase.

Nepal’s economic bowling unit restricted Uganda from achieving the target

Uganda openers Kevin Awino and Kulume (8 off 7) gave a kick start to the chase, but the latter had to find her way back to the pavilion early in the second over, courtesy of Asmina Karmacharya. Janet Mbabazi (10 off 12) added some quick runs on board before being scalped by Sita Rana Magar for a 12-ball 10. The innings slowed down drastically after the two dismissals.

Rita Musamali (26 off 38) and Awino (15 off 22) found it very difficult to find the gap and send the ball towards the fence as Nepal’s bowling unit restricted them really well. They kept scalping wickets at regular intervals, leaving no scope for a successful chase. Uganda batters played their part in the game for 20 overs, but Nepal bowlers overpowered them and restricted the visitors to 90/6 thereby winning the game by 33 runs.

Uganda Women won the five-match T20I series against Nepal Women by 3-2 and all-rounder Janet Mababazi was named the player of the series.