Nepal suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of Hong Kong in the ACC Women’s Premier Cup cricket tournament. Hong Kong defeated Nepal by 69 runs on Saturday in the ongoing tournament in Malaysia.

Chasing a target of 110 runs, Nepal were bowled out for a mere 40 runs in just 13.3 overs at the Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Oval in Kuala Lumpur. This marks Nepal’s lowest-ever score in Women’s Twenty20 Internationals.

Previously, Nepal’s lowest Women’s T20I totals were 50 runs, recorded twice—first against Bangladesh during the 2019 South Asian Games in Pokhara, and then against Malaysia in Bangi in 2023.

Nepal had started their campaign strong, defeating China by eight wickets on Wednesday and Bhutan by 51 runs on Thursday. However, following the defeat against Hong Kong, Nepal finished as the runners-up of Group D, with Hong Kong leapfrogging them to top the group. Both Nepal and Hong Kong had already qualified for the quarter-finals prior to this match.

Nepal’s run chase got off to a disastrous start. Opener Bindu Rawal was dismissed off the very first ball she faced in the opening over. Fellow opener Samjhana Khadka could only manage 3 runs, while vice-captain Puja Mahato was dismissed for a duck. Ruby Poddar became the third Nepali batter to fall without scoring.

Following the dismissals of Rawal, Mahato, and Poddar, Hong Kong’s Iqra Sahar removed Nepal captain Indu Barma, who was dismissed for just 6 runs. Sahar delivered an exceptional spell, claiming 4 wickets for just 4 runs in her 4 overs. Sony Pakhrin scored 12 runs off 23 balls, and Rubina Chhetry made 10 runs off 12 balls before being dismissed. Both batters struck two boundaries each.

Sita Rana Magar and Riya Sharma were restricted to 1 run each, while Manisha Upadhya became the fourth Nepali batter to be dismissed for a duck. Kabita Kunwar remained unbeaten on 4 runs off 8 balls. Apart from Sahar's destructive spell, Kary Chan and Maryam Bibi picked up two wickets each for Hong Kong.

Earlier, after Nepal won the toss and elected to field, Hong Kong posted 109 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Hong Kong captain and opener Natasha Miles was run out for just 6 runs. However, her opening partner Mariko Hill scored 29 runs off 36 balls, hitting four boundaries.

Yasmin Daswani anchored the innings, remaining unbeaten on 42 runs off 44 balls, which included two boundaries. Chan scored 11 runs off 8 balls, including a six, before being dismissed, while Marina Lamplough remained unbeaten on 18 runs off 18 balls with two boundaries. For Nepal, Chhetry conceded 20 runs in her 4 overs to take one wicket, while Sharma claimed one wicket, giving away 27 runs in her 4 overs.