Nepal Women maintained their strong form in the Asian Games Women’s Qualifier 2026 with a 19-run win over China Women in Kuala Lumpur. Puja Mahato’s excellent half-century set up the result before Riya Sharma led a disciplined bowling effort to defend the target.
The match saw Nepal recover well from an early setback with the bat, while their bowlers later delivered tight spells and key wickets to prevent China from taking control of the chase.
Nepal Women’s innings began poorly as Samjhana Khadka was dismissed in the opening over. She struck one boundary during her short stay but fell to Ma Ruike for four, leaving Nepal at 4/1.
Despite that early blow, Puja Mahato settled quickly and began rebuilding with Sony Pakhrin. The pair added an important 37-run partnership for the second wicket. Sony made a steady 18 from 24 balls, hitting two boundaries and rotating the strike well against China’s disciplined attack.
China broke through again in the seventh over when Sony was stumped off Wang Huiying, reducing Nepal to 41/2. Puja, however, continued to hold the innings together with composure.
Kabita Kunwar joined her and helped add 15 valuable runs before Jiaping Li trapped her lbw for five. At 56/3 after 10.2 overs, China had a chance to keep Nepal under pressure through the middle phase.
Puja Mahato Anchors Nepal’s Innings
Puja then produced one of the best innings of the tournament so far. She showed patience, timing, and control before gradually lifting the scoring rate.
Rubi Poddar gave useful support at the other end as the pair put together a crucial 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Rubi remained unbeaten on 22 from 25 balls with one boundary, while Puja led the stand with smart placement and clean strokeplay through the off side.
Puja eventually made 63 from 57 deliveries at a strike rate above 110, hitting six boundaries. Her innings ended in the penultimate over when she was run out while attempting a quick second run, leaving Nepal at 120/4.
Nepal suffered another late setback when captain Indu Barma fell for a first-ball duck to Ma Ruike in the final over. Rubina Chhetry then struck an unbeaten four from one ball to take Nepal to 125/5 from 20 overs.
On a surface where fluent scoring was not always easy, that total looked competitive.
China’s bowlers stayed disciplined for long periods despite Puja’s dominance. Ma Ruike was their most successful bowler with 2/26 from four overs, dismissing Samjhana and Indu. Wang Huiying bowled economically and took the important wicket of Sony, conceding only 22 runs in four overs.
Jiaping Li also picked up a wicket, while Mingyue Zhu and Zhao Yihan kept Nepal relatively quiet through the middle overs. China also prevented Nepal from completely breaking away at the death despite the strong fourth-wicket partnership.
China Start Cautiously In The Chase
Chasing 126, China Women began carefully. Jiaping Li and Wei Haiting tried to build a platform with a measured 30-run opening stand, but Nepal’s bowlers kept tight lines and limited scoring chances.
Jiaping made 15 from 24 balls before becoming the first wicket to fall, caught by Rubi Poddar off Puja Mahato in the seventh over.
Wei and captain Mingyue Zhu then steadied the chase with another useful stand of 29. Wei worked hard for 18 from 26 balls before Kabita Kunwar ended the partnership in the 12th over.
At 59/2, China were still close enough to challenge, especially as Mingyue began to find rhythm. The captain scored 30 from 28 balls with two boundaries, while Wang Huiying supported with 21 from 28 deliveries.
Riya Sharma Delivers Under Pressure
The key phase came in the final five overs, when Nepal’s bowlers tightened their control and forced China into mistakes. Mingyue and Wang added 43 runs for the fourth wicket to keep China in the match, but Nepal struck at the right moments.
Riya Sharma produced an excellent pressure spell. She removed Wang for 21 in the 20th over after earlier dismissing Gong Yuting, who made only three before being stumped by Rubi Poddar. Riya finished with impressive figures of 2/18 from four overs and was named Player of the Match.
Kabita also played an important role with 1/15 from four economical overs. Manisha Upadhayay delivered one of the tightest spells of the game, giving away only 11 runs and dismissing Mingyue. Puja added a wicket, while Seemana KC, Rubina Chhetry, and Sita Rana Magar supported effectively to ensure China never fully controlled the chase.
China Women finished on 106/5 from 20 overs, falling 19 runs short despite a determined effort from their middle order.
The win further strengthened Nepal Women’s position in the Asian Games Women’s Qualifier 2026, with Puja Mahato and Riya Sharma showing the team’s growing balance in women’s T20 cricket.
