Bangladesh defend SAFF Women's Championship title, defeat host Nepal 2-1
Bangladesh defeated host Nepal to retain the title of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship.
In the match played under lights at Dashrath Stadium in Tripureshwor, Bangladesh defeated Nepal by 2-1 goals. Two years ago, Bangladesh had defeated Nepal by 3-1 goals to win the championship for the first time.
All the three goals were scored in the second half, after the first half ended in a goalless draw. Bangladesh took the lead in the 52nd minute, with Monica Chakma opening the scoresheet. However, the lead did not last long, as Nepal's Amisha Karki made it 1-1 in the 56th minute.
Ritu Porna Chokma scored in the 81st minute, as her cross into the box from the left flank beat Nepali goalkeeper to make it 2-1 for the visitors. The scoreline did not change, as Nepal failed to exert any pressure in the remaining nine minutes and added five minutes.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who watched the final, also gave away the championship trophy and medals to the winners and runner-up.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Urban Development Prakashman Singh, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Youth and Sports Minister Tejulal Chaudhary, ANFA President Pankaj Nembang, were among the dignitaries present at the full-house stadium to watch the final match.
Nepal lost in the final for the sixth time, four times to India and two times, including this one, to Bangladesh. India have won the championship five times while Bangladesh made it two in a row, after winning in 2022.
Host Nepal had made it to the final after defeating five-time champions India 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the semi-final. Bangladesh eased to the finals following a 7-1 win against Bhutan.
Nepal defeat Scotland by five wickets
Nepal defeated Scotland by five wickets in the one day international under the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League-2 Series today.
After losing the toss and being put to bat first at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, US, Scotland were bowled out for just 154 runs in 41.4 overs at the loss of all wickets.
Spinner Sandeep Lamichhane took three wickets to limit Scotland's innings. Karan KC, Sompal Kami and Gulshan Jha took two wickets each and Arif Sheikh dismissed one.
For Scotland, Mark Watt scored highest with 34 runs while other batsmen could not score significant runs.
Nepal chased down the victory target in 29.5 overs. Arif Sheikh contributed 51 runs to cruise Nepal to victory. Likewise, Kushal Bhurtel and Gulshan Jha hit 25 runs each while Asif Sheikh gathered 21 runs for Nepal.
Brandon McMullen took two wickets for Scotland. Bradley Currie, Mark Watt and Jack Jarvis took one wicket each.
Earlier, Nepal had lost to the US by three wickets in the first match of the tri-series under League-2. Scotland defeated the US by 10 wickets in their first match.
SAFF Women's Championship: Nepal enter final defeating India
Nepal's swashbuckling performance in the ongoing SAFF Women Championship secured their entry to the final.
Nepal defeated India in the semifinal, securing the berth to the final on Sunday.
Nepal won 4-2 in the tiebreaker.
In the match played at Dasharath Stadium, Tripureshwor, none of the team made a goal in the first half, while they had 1-1 in the second half.
Sabitra Bhandari 'Samba' scored a goal for Nepal as soon as the second half began.
Nepal will lock their horns with Bangladesh in the final.
Bangladesh had entered the final by defeating Bhutan on Sunday itself. Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 7-1 in the semifinal.
Clean sweep for Nepal
Nepal completed a clean sweep of the three-match T20I series against the United States by winning the third and final match by eight wickets on Monday morning. Chasing a target of 157 in Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Nepal secured the victory in 18.4 overs, losing only two wickets. In the series opener, Nepal won by 17 runs, followed by a thrilling super over victory in the second match. Aasif Sheikh’s half-century (50) set the foundation for Nepal’s chase in the final match, while Kushal Malla (44*) and Kushal Bhurtel (40*) saw the team home. The US’ Juanoy Drysdale and Jasdeep Singh claimed one wicket each.
Earlier, the US posted 156/5, led by Saiteja Mukkamalla’s 68 and Milind Kumar’s 43. Nepal’s Sompal Kami starred with the ball, taking three wickets, and was named Player of the Series after securing five wickets across the three matches.
