Nepal has faced a first defeat at the hands of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the ICC U-19 Women's World Cup Asia Region Qualifiers held in UAE.
In the match held in UAE on Saturday, Nepal lost to the home team by 13 runs.
UAE restricted Nepal to 109 runs losing five wickets in the allotted 20 overs while the latter was chasing the 123-run target.
Nepal's captain Puja Mahato made the highest 48 runs including five fours off 43 deliveries. Similarly, Sana Praveen and Sony Pakhrin notched up equal 19 runs. Jyotsnika Marasini contributed 11 runs and remained not-out.
Earlier, electing to bat first after winning the toss at the Azman Cricket Ground, UAE notched up 122 runs losing seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Rinitha Rajith topped the score with 48 runs including five fours and two sixes followed by Lavanya Keny with 20 runs while Indhuja Nandakumar contributed 12 runs.
In reply, Nepal's Puja Sharma took three wickets followed by Puja Mahato, Karishma Gurung, and Sima KC with one wicket each.
With the win, UAE is atop the points tally with six points followed by Nepal with four points.
Nepal had defeated Thailand by 67 runs in the first match and registered a 108-run win on Kuwait in the second match.
Nepal will take on Thailand again on Sunday.
In the competition involving four teams, each will play six matches. To be held in a double league format, the top team will book berth in the ICC U-19 World Cup to be held in Malaysia in 2025.
The U-19 World Cup will be held in Malaysia from January 18 to February 2.
The top team of the Asia Region Qualifiers will be placed in Group D alongside Australia, Bangladesh, and Scotland.
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