The Nepali women’s cricket team beat the United Arab Emirates by five wickets in the Super Three stage of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier on Monday to book a place in the Global Qualifier.

With the win, Nepal moved a step closer to fulfilling their dream of qualifying for their maiden World Cup. The team’s remarkable achievement has drawn widespread acclaim from Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) officials, politicians, including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and the general public. “A historic achievement for Nepal in women’s cricket… This is a moment of pride for Nepal,” Oli wrote on social media. “Congratulations and best wishes.”

Nepal had previously failed to progress from regional qualifiers in 2019, 2021 and 2023. But on Monday, they marked a departure from their performance in previous years.

At the Bangkok-based Terdthai Cricket Ground, Nepal won the toss and invited the UAE to bat first. Nepali bowlers struggled to get the first wicket against the UAE, with the opening duo of Esha Oza and Theertha Shatish keeping the scoreboard ticking. It was only in the final ball of the 10th over that Rajmati Airee broke their partnership.

Shatish was caught by Rubina Chettry, leaving the UAE’s total at 45 runs. However, Nepal knew it was not a time to celebrate as skipper Oza was still on the crease; Oza has four centuries in T20Is with a highest score of 158 not out.

After the first wicket, Oza added 17 runs in the next 10 deliveries.

Nepal’s skipper Indu Barma had used Kabita Kunwar, Puja Mahato, Sabnam Rai, Riya Sharma, Airee and herself until the 11th over, trying to send Oza back to the pavilion.

As all failed, Barma brought Manisha Upadhyay in the 13th over. She was hit for a six by Oza in the third delivery, but in the fourth, Upadhyay won the bargain, and the UAE skipper got caught out for 39 off 39.

After that, Upadhyay went on to complete her four-over spell and bag three more top-order wickets—that of Lavanya Keny (12 off 11), Michelle Botha (3 off 9) and Heena Hotchandani (20 off 16). When Kunwar returned in the final over of the inning, her fourth, she took two more wickets, restricting the UAE to 114/7.

How happy the team was for Upadhyay taking care of four of the best UAE batters was visible in the post-match presentation. Barma, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for her match-winning knock of 30 off 28, handed her award to Upadhyay, saying that she deserved it more. Later, Upadhyay dedicated the award to Chhetry, the most experienced player in the Nepali squad.

While Nepal’s national women’s cricket team was formed in 2007, Chhetry debuted in 2008. Since July 2018, when the ICC granted full Women’s T20I status to all its members, Chhetry has played in 73 T20Is for the country.

Chhetry’s years-worth of experience was on show on Monday as well. Coming in at six with the team’s total at 62/4 in 12.3 overs, she partnered with Barma to take the score to 99 runs in 17.5 overs. She contributed 23 off 18 before departing as the fifth wicket.

An all-rounder, Chhetry has scored 884 runs in 63 innings while picking 44 wickets in 65 innings. She is also the only Nepali woman cricketer with a T20I century under her belt; it came against the Maldives in the ACC Women’s Premier Cup last year.

After Chhetry, Rubi Poddar stayed with Barma to take Nepal closer than ever to the senior women’s team’s first World Cup. It was earlier in January this year that the Nepali women’s U19 team, captained by Puja Mahato, participated in their first-ever World Cup.

Mahato, currently the vice-captain of the senior team, added 13 off 19 in the crucial chase against the UAE. Nepal had entered the Super Three thanks to rain cancelling the game between Hong Kong and Bahrain in the group stage.

Therefore, they were desperate for a win in Super Three against Thailand and the UAE to show that they deserve to be in the next stage. The UAE were also desperate for a victory on Monday as they had lost their first game to Thailand and needed a win to qualify.

Their defeat meant Thailand and Nepal progressed to the Global Qualifier with one game remaining. The duo will compete on Tuesday, with the winner ending the campaign as the top team.

CAN officials and politicians showered praise for the team after they confirmed their entry to the Global Qualifier.

Paras Khadka, Nepal’s former men’s captain, took to his Facebook and said the girls won against all the obstacles and showed the possibilities of women in cricket.

“Respect to the players who chose this field despite the communities asking ‘What will you gain from playing cricket?’,” said Khadka, who is currently the secretary at CAN. “For a girl to dream of playing cricket is still a big thing in Nepal, but the dreams are alive.”

Khadka added, “Thus, the biggest thing we can give to the Nepali women's cricket team is encouragement.”

There are 10 teams in the Global Qualifier, with two of them—Bangladesh and Scotland—qualifying automatically from the 2024 T20 World Cup. The other eight will come from five regional qualifiers—Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and East-Asia-Pacific (EAP).

Two teams qualify from Asia, Europe and Africa, while one each from the Americas and EAP. Nepal and Thailand have grabbed those two spots from Asia, while Argentina entered through the Americas in March.

The qualifiers in Europe, Africa and EAP will be held in August and September. It means that the Global Qualifier will at least not begin until October 2025, providing enough time for Nepal to prepare.

Four of the top teams among the 10 in the Global Qualifier will enter the 2026 T20 World Cup in England and Wales.

“Global Qualifier is a historic achievement that has also opened doors for other opportunities,” skipper Barma said in a video published by Hamrokhelkud.com.

She praised all the teammates and staff for their dedication and hard work that helped realise their long-held dream. “We are in a happy mood,” Barma said. “The win has inspired us. It has shown that women’s cricket in Nepal deserves more investment and support from the agencies concerned.”