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Nepal defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by six wickets in their first match of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup on Friday.

The match was held at the Dambulla International Stadium in Sri Lanka.

Chasing the target of 116 runs, Nepal made it in 16.1 overs at the loss of four wickets.

Samjhana Khadka was the top scorer for Nepal with 72 runs. She hit 11 fours in her 45-ball innings.

Likewise, Rubina Chhetri scored 10 runs while other batters failed to score in double digits.

For the UAE, Kavisha Egodage took three wickets while Lavanya Kenny claimed one wicket.

Invited to bat first after losing the toss, the UAE scored 115 runs at the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

Indu Barma took the highest three wickets for Nepal. Kritika Marasini, Sabnam Rai and Kabita Joshi claimed one wicket each.

Nepal will play their second match against Pakistan on July 21.

The French Embassy in Nepal hosted a reception here on Tuesday at the French Residence in honor of the Nepali Olympians and the Nepal Olympic Committee, celebrating their journey and looking forward to their participation in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games which will start from July 26.

On the occasion, the French Chargé d’Affaires, Jean-Baptiste Lesecq, expressed pride in welcoming the athletes and their support teams. In his address, he congratulated the Olympians on their achievements, emphasizing the significance of their selection to represent Nepal on the world stage. He noted that this proud moment extends beyond the athletes to their friends, families, and the entire nation. “Success in sports is never due to one person but is the product of dedication from your coaches and the supporting team who are present here this evening,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the President of Nepal Olympic Committee Jeevan Ram Shrestha said, “We are confident that it (Paris Olympic Games) will be a magnificent event, demonstrating excellence and unity.”

During their stay in Paris, the athletes will reside in the Olympic Village, providing them the opportunity to meet fellow sportspersons who share their passion and values, the Embassy of France in Kathmandu said in a press release today. 

The Chargé d’Affaires encouraged the athletes to immerse themselves in the spirit of Paris and the Games, highlighting unique features such as the opening ceremony on the Seine River and iconic Parisian landmarks serving as venues.

The event was attended by Olympians Manita Pradhan/Judo, Prince Dahal/Badminton, Shantoshi Shrestha/Athletics, Sushmita Nepal/Shooting, senior officials of Nepal Olympic Committee and the coaches. Alexander G Shah/Swimming, Duana Lama/Swimming, and Santoo Shrestha/Table tennis were out of station.

As the Nepali Olympians prepare to represent their country on the world stage, the French Embassy extended its best wishes for a journey filled with unforgettable moments and personal and collective achievements.

The Paris 2024 Olympics promises to be an exceptional event, introducing new sports such as breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing. These additions aim to be inclusive and appeal to younger audiences. The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee has also made strong environmental and social commitments, including ensuring gender parity among the athletes.

This event also holds a historical significance as the last time Paris hosted the Summer Olympic Games was in 1924.

South Africa ended their run of semi-final heartache by thrashing Afghanistan to reach their first men's T20 World Cup final.

The Proteas, who had failed to progress from all seven of their previous World Cup semi-finals across formats, dismissed Afghanistan for 56 in 11.5 overs on a difficult pitch on their way to a nine-wicket win in Trinidad, BBC reported.

Marco Jansen removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the tournament's leading run-scorer in Afghanistan's dramatic run to their first semi-final, and the score was soon 28-6.

Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi mopped up the tail with 3-6 and Jansen finished with 3-16 but questions will be asked about the state of the surface for such a showpiece event.

It offered excessive seam movement and bounce to the pace bowlers, at times dangerously so, with South Africa also struggling in their chase.

Quinton de Kock was bowled having been hit on the body but, with little pressure to score quickly, the Proteas were able to complete their chase in 8.5 overs, according to BBC.

They now progress to Saturday's final in Barbados unbeaten as they look to win a World Cup for the first time.

They will play England or India, who meet in the second semi-final on Thursday in Guyana at 15:30 BST.

Afghanistan reached the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup with a dramatic eight-run victory over Bangladesh under the Duckworth Lewis System in St Vincent on Monday, joining India as the qualifiers from Group 1 and sending Australia home, according to Reuters.

Bangladesh also had a chance to progress or send Australia through with a victory but the Afghans dismissed them for 105 to take the win they needed to set up a first World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Trinidad on Wednesday.

Afghanistan hopes were dented when they were restricted to a modest 115-5 but skipper Rashid Khan took 4-23 and Naveen-ul-Haq 4-26 in a defiant bowling effort that delivered victory.

The last few overs were high drama played out well past midnight local time with Bangladesh needing roughly a run a ball and the DLS calculations in case of more rain changing with every wicket and boundary.

Naveen delivered the coup de grace in the penultimate over by bowling Taskin Ahmed and trapping Mustafizur Rahman in front off consecutive balls, triggering tearful celebrations from his team mates.

India, who beat Australia by 24 runs earlier in St Lucia to leave the qualification hopes of the 2021 champions hanging by a thread, will take on title holders England in the second semi-final in Guyana on Thursday.

Rashid won the toss and elected to bat first, sending out the same team that stunned Australia at the same Arnos Vale Ground on Saturday to give themselves a shot at the semis.

Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran scored a third century partnership of the tournament to build the foundation for that upset and Bangladesh were desperate to separate them quickly.

The Bangladesh bowlers made scoring mighty hard as they combined for 66 dot balls over the innings but they were unable to break the partnership until the 11th over when it was worth 59 runs.

Rishad Hossain (3-26) did the damage by having Ibrahim caught on the offside for 18 and the leg spinner returned to remove Gurbaz for 43 as Afghanistan collapsed from 84-1 to 93-5 in 11 balls.

Afghan skipper Rashid rallied with three sixes in his 10-ball 19 and was so desperate to score that he hurled his bat down the wicket at his batting partner Karim Janat in fury when refused a second run in the final over.

After a brief rain delay, Bangladesh set off at a fair lick as they chased the win in 12.1 overs that they needed to get their run rate up.

Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed Tanzid Hasan lbw in the second over and Naveen removed Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan in successive balls before another shower swept in with the score at 31-3.

Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar bumped the score up to 46-3 by the end of the powerplay but Rashid brought himself on and bowled the latter for 10 from his fourth delivery.

Rashid came back on to dismiss Towhid Hridoy (14), captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Hossain, the latter two in successive balls to reduce Bangladesh to 80-7 just before another shower forced the players off again.

Bangladesh’s target was reduced to 114 in 19 overs after the break but their hopes of reaching the semi-finals were now gone, though opener Litton Das stood firm even as his batting partners departed in the late drama to score 54 not out.