KATHMANDU, Jan 29: A test of nerve for the Nepal women cricket players will be on card when they face the Netherlands and Thailand in a tri-series in Kathmandu.
Nepali girls will be under tremendous pressure to perform at the home turf and before a boisterous home fans which would be egging on their players to put up strong contest against better rivals. Nepal's women cricketers have had a poor run against Thailand as they have lost all three matches they played against the South East Asian nation.
They have not played a match against the Dutch side so far. The Europeans considered better than the home team because the host Nepal is the lowest ICC-ranked team in the tri-series. Thailand and the Netherlands are the 13th and 16th ranked teams in Twenty20 Internationals and 9th and 13th in One-Day Internationals. Nepal is ranked 20th in T20Is, while our women's cricket is yet to gain ODI status.
The round robin league fixtures pitted each of the three teams against each other in a format that will see each of them competing three times, starting January 30.
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The top two teams will face off in the final on February 8, as all fixtures will be held in the country’s only international cricket ground: TU International Ground, Kirtipur.
The first match of the series will feature the Netherlands and Nepal, followed by the two visiting teams on January 31. On February 1, Nepal will play against Thailand. The host's second and third matches against the Netherlands and Thailand are scheduled for February 2 and 5, and February 4 and 7, respectively.
Thailand will play the Netherlands for the second and third times on February 3 and 6, respectively.
Meanwhile, Indu Barma will lead the host’s team composed of experienced and new faces. Experienced Rubina Chhetry and Sita Rana Magar, as well as Bindu Rawal, Samjhana Kumari Khadka, Kabita Kunwar, Kabita Joshi, and Roma Thapa, are regular faces. Puja Mahato, Nepal's U19 captain, has returned to the senior team for the tri-series. Her U19 teammate and wicketkeeper, Alisha Kumari Yadav, has also made a berth in the senior side.
Mamta Kumari Chaudhary, who last played for the national team in 2022 against the UAE, has also been included in the team as she finished the top scorer, with a total of 209 runs in six matches, in the recently concluded Prime Minister's Cup held in Dhangadi.
Likewise, Manisha Upadhyaya has been called up to the senior squad as she was cut based on her bowling in the PM Cup. She was the highest wicket-taker, with ten in five games. Rajmati Airee, an all-rounder, has joined the team along with Rewati Dhami and Ishwori Bista. According to CAN, Alisha, Manisha, Rajmati, Rewati, and Ishwori will be making debuts on the national side when they take to the field in Kirtipur.
Meanwhile, Babette de Leede is the skipper of the Dutch squad, while Neil Macrae is the team coach. The Dutch team arrives in Nepal with a lot of exposure to international competition. Last month, they played against England, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy in the European Cricket Championship Women's 10-over format tournament. They entered the final, where they were defeated by England. Similarly, the Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) held the domestic T20 Super League 2024 in December as a selection for the players for the tri-series.
