Nepal secured a 9-wicket win over Bahrain in their second match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday. The T20 game was reduced to five overs each due to rain.

Batting first, Bahrain lost their first wicket in the final ball of the second over. Until then, Bahrain had only four runs on the board.

Then stepped in skipper Deepkia Rasangika and turned the tide in the next three overs. She smashed six fours and a six to contribute 34 runs off 13 deliveries. Opener Tharanga Gajanayake assisted Rasangika with 3 off 12 to take the total to 41 runs.

Despite wickets in hand, Nepal did not have enough overs to start the chase slowly. Thus, the opening duo of Samjhana Khadka and Kabita Kunwar kept the runs ticking. However, in 3.2 overs, a miscommunication led to the run out of Kunwar, who added 18 off 11 with four fours.

Nepal skipper Indu Barma entered the crease then and took the team to victory. She added 7 off 5 while Khakda, who did not score a single boundary, remained not out at 13 off 10.

Nepal were thankful for the five-over game against Bahrain as it allowed them to earn two crucial points. Had the game been cancelled, like on Friday during the qualifier opener against Hong Kong, Nepal would have had to share points on Saturday as well.

Nepal are facing Hong Kong and Bahrain again on May 13 and 15, respectively. Nepal can progress to the Super 3 as the topper of the group comprising Hong Kong and Bahrain.