A day after a suffering a humiliating eight-wicket defeat against hosts Thailand, Nepal bounced back to beat Bhutan by five wickets in the ACC Women’s Premier cricket tournament at the Gyamkhana ground in Chiang Mai on Friday.

Nepal were bundled out for a lowly 39-run total against Thailand on Thursday and so decided to field first after winning the toss. Skipper Rubina Chhetry’s decision turned out to be the right one as Nepal restricted Bhutan for 103-7 40 overs. Nepal surpassed the total for the loss of five wickets in 26.2 overs after overcoming an early setback in the chase.

Nepal appeared to be heading for yet another batting collapse when the top four batswomen were dismissed cheaply to be 37-4 by the 13th over. But Mamta Thapa (20) put on two meaningful partnerships to pull Nepal out of trouble. Vice captain Thapa added 20 runs for the fourth wicket with Sita Magar (8) and another crucial 37 runs.

After the dismissal of Thapa at 74-5 in the 20th over, skipper Chhetry took over the reins, guiding her team safely home with her unbeaten 31 runs. Chhetry struck seven boundaries in her 45-ball knock. Mamta Chaudhary also chipped in with an unbeaten 16-ball 13. 

Earlier, Chhetry and Sonu Khadka pinned down the Bhutanese batsmen with the tight bowling, taking two wickets each for Nepal. While Chhetry conceded just 14 runs off eight overs, Khadka bled only five runs in her eight overs. Sita Magar and Rekha Rawal also grabbed one wicket each.

Bhutan were in dire straits at 50-6 by the 27th over and owed much of their tailender Yeshey Wangmo’s unbeaten 23 runs and Sonam Choden’s 21 that ensure they cross the three figure mark. Bhutan total was also boosted by 24 sundries conceded by Nepal.

Nepal skipper Chhetry was happy to have won the game but was disappointed with the batting display. “I am concerned over our poor batting, especially the misfiring openers,” said Chhetry. “We are not just good in bowling and fielding departments but also in batting. I just feel that our batswomen are losing self confidence,” said Chhetry stressing on the importance of winning their next game against China on Sunday.

Coach Umesh Raj Upadhyaya also expressed disappointment over his team’s batting performance. “This is the second time that we played under pressure due to the top order batting failure,” said the Nepal team coach. “Our fate will largely depend on the result against China,” added the coach.