Nepal have progressed to the Super Three stage of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier between nine teams in Bangkok, Thailand. They were favoured by rain as the challenger Hong Kong’s fixture with Bahrain on Friday was called off.

Had Hong Kong defeated Bahrain, they would have climbed over Nepal on points to top Group C and progress to the next stage. But as the match was abandoned, Hong Kong and Bahrain shared a point each. It helped Hong Kong equal points with Nepal, but the girls from the Himalayas bettered them in ‘number of matches won’.

In the group stage, where a team played four matches each, Friday’s cancellation was the third for Hong Kong. Their only complete game was on May 13, when the fixture against Nepal was reduced to five overs each after the condition was playable; Hong Kong won it by seven wickets to register their only win.

On the other hand, Nepal were lucky against Bahrain in both group games. They defeated Bahrain by nine wickets in the game reduced to five overs each on May 10. The second win was on May 15 when Bahrain’s first inning came to a halt due to rain in the 13th over, and Nepal were asked to chase 56 runs in 7 overs.

The second win over Bahrain was what kept Nepal’s hope for the Super Three alive. For that to happen, either Bahrain had to defeat Hong Kong, or the game should have been cancelled.

And on May 16, it seemed that Group C’s deciding game would begin when Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat first against Hong Kong at the Asian Institute of Technology Ground. But by the time for batters to enter the ground, it was wet and unplayable.

Nepal will now face the UAE and Thailand in Super Three on May 19 and 20 at Terdthai, respectively. Thailand face the UAE on May 18.

The UAE topped Group B with six points. They have two wins in four games, while two of their games ended without a result. Similar is the case for Thailand, topper of Group A; despite two wins in two games, two of their other games were affected by rain.

Yet, Thailand and the UAE are one point ahead of Nepal. As per the tournament structure, the points of the group stage are added to the Super Three stage. Nepal have four points from two wins against Bahrain, while a point was shared with Hong Kong on the first day.

If the teams end up with equal points at the end of Super Three, the winner will be decided by ‘matches won’. If there is another tie, officials will decide by net run rate (NRR).