Nepal not ready to give up on Women's T20 World Cup dream

A narrow loss to the Netherlands has done nothing to dampen the hopes of Nepal as they chase a spot at this year's ICC Women T20 World Cup.

The Asian side fell to a two-run loss to the Dutch in their second clash at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier event on home soil on Thursday and now need everything to go right to earn a place at this year's 20-over showcase in England and Wales.

Nepal currently sit in fourth place in their group at the qualifier event and will need to defeat Zimbabwe and Scotland in their final matches in the stage to have any chance of progressing through to the Super Six phase and stay in contention for a place in the T20 World Cup.

But all-rounder Rubina Chhetry - who top-scored with an unbeaten 37 and claimed two key wickets against the Netherlands* at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground - believes her side are still on the improve and capable of finding their best form during the backend of the group stage.

“The team has improved a lot compared to the previous times,” Chhetry said.

“We still have a chance to qualify for the next stage, and keep the hope for the World Cup alive. And we will utilise the remaining games to end the tournament in our favour.”

Nepal pose for a team photo at the T20 World Cup Qualifier // Getty Images

Chhetry almost single-handedly guided Nepal over the line against the Netherlands on Thursday, with the 32-year-old smashing the final delivery of the run chase for a boundary when a six would have been enough for the side to level the scores.

The right-hander shared an unbeaten 45-run stand with Sita Rana Magar (27*) and became just the second women from Nepal to have scored more than 1000 runs in T20I cricket as a result.

“Milestones matter only when the team wins. Records will keep coming. More than the thousand runs, I hope I can make a bigger contribution in the next match," Chhetry added.

“We had a good partnership at the end. We needed a similar partnership in the middle as well. But we lost too many wickets at the wrong time, and that became the reason for the defeat."

While Nepal are still searching for their first win at the Qualifier, the Netherlands are tracking in the opposite direction having tasted success in all three of their fixtures at the event to have booked their place in the Super Six phase.

That has the European side well placed to qualify for the T20 World Cup in the middle of the year, though head coach Neil MacRae is not looking too far ahead following the narrow escape against the tournament hosts.

“Nepal are very strong when they play at home with domestic crowd support. You could feel that towards the end of the innings. That’s why it was a high-quality game. The opposition were excellent, and we are very happy to take the two points,” he said.