Nepal has secured a spot in next year’s ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup by performing with higher run rate than the UAE.
On the final day of ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2024, Nepal qualified with a stunning victory against UAE. That was played last week.
Nepal clinched the place in in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 by restricting the UAE to 83, thanks to a brilliant four-wicket haul by Krishma Gurung.
Heading into the final fixture, Nepal were two points behind UAE, who had been undefeated in the tournament to that point. To claim World Cup qualification, Nepal not only needed to chase down UAE’s target, but had to do so at a rate to pass their rivals on net run rate. The Nepali batters delivered under pressure, achieving the target comfortably in just 14.4 overs to secure the final U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 spot.
This win was a big boost to Nepal as they had a commanding victory against UAE, to whom they had lost earlier in the tournament. Krishma Gurung bagged four wickets and was supported by Riya Sharma and Seemana KC both of whom took two wickets apiece.
The small targets were chased quickly, with Sana Parveen top-scoring with an unbeaten 35, helped by Sony Pakhrin’s 13 not out. The pair put up an unbeaten partnership of 38 and held their nerve after losing the wicket of their skipper, Puja Mahato, for 21.
This win meant that Nepal became the final team to qualify for next year’s tournament. They will face Australia, Bangladesh, and Scotland in Group D for next year’s tournament.
The top 10 full member teams of the enter the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup via direct qualification. Samoa, USA, Scotland and Nigeria are the other teams to qualify through the regional qualifiers. Malaysia, the hosts, will also be participants.