Malaysia’s Elsa hunts down Nepal in semifinal

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Feb. 17: Nepal needed to defend 11 runs in the final over to progress to the ACC Women’s Premier Cup 2024 finals. However, Malaysia’s Elsa Hunter stayed at the crease and chased the target successfully with a tired body to knock Nepal out of the campaign.

Electing to bat first, Nepal’s batters struggled to score enough runs against the tournament host Malaysia. Losing six wickets, Nepal posted a target of 116 runs at the end of 20 overs. 

Captain Indu Barma (29 off 37) was the highest scorer for the team followed by Dolly Bhatta (25 off 14), Kabita Kunwar (23 off 31) and Rubina Chhetry (20 off 18).

Nepal lost Kabita Kunwar and Kabita Joshi (2 off 7) to run-outs alongside Dolly, who gave away her wicket while running for the second in the final over of the first inning. Sita Rana Magar was only able to contribute 6 runs for the team before getting struck leg before.

Mahirah Izzati Ismail and Captain Winifred Duraisingam took two and one wickets respectively for Malaysia. 

Nepal was still motivated despite defending a paltry target as three wickets of Malaysia fell by the 9th over. Winifred (2 off 8), Ainna Hamizah Hashim (0 off 4) and Mas Elysa (13 off 22) returned to the pavilion without contributing adequately.

On the other hand, three wickets in 8.4 overs with Malaysia at 36/3 kept Nepal’s hopes for the finals alive. Nevertheless, Elsa Hunter, who came in at three, stood as the wall to prevent Nepal from advancing.

Entering the crease after Ainna was struck leg before in the second over, Elsa continued her hunt for the runs and won the match for Malaysia in the second-to-last ball of the 20th over.

Elsa was tired after she entered the 30s. Stealing runs with a weary body; she took a couple of seconds to take a deep breath before facing another delivery several times. 

However, despite it being hard for her body, Hunter did not break down and registered her half-century. She continued hitting boundaries and running for single and doubles to keep the required run rate in check. 

The Nepali team did not see a chance to win the match until Elsa was hunting. Welcoming Kabita Kunwar in the final over with a four, Elsa hit the third ball of the over for another four. With three runs remaining in three balls, Player of the match Elsa ran for a double in the fourth ball and took Malaysia to the finals of the ACC Women’s Premier Cup with a single in the fifth ball.

She stayed not out at 69 runs off 53 deliveries with six fours.

Sita and Kabita Joshi bagged two wickets each while Rubina and Kabita Kunwar claimed one each for Nepal as Malaysia lost six wickets in the chase. 

Losing to Malaysia in the semis, Nepal also lost its chance to qualify for the Women’s T20 Asia Cup as two finalists in the Premier Cup qualify for the major Asian tournament in women’s cricket. 

Malaysia will now face the UAE in the finals on February 18. The UAE defeated Thailand in another semi-final match by four runs. Nepal, Malaysia, UAE and Thailand had reached the semis without losing a single match in the campaign.