Netherlands dominated the majority of play to clinch their first ever ICC Women's T20 World Cup berth while the loss for USA means their 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup qualification hopes are hanging by a thread. 

Photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Kathmandu, Nepal (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
In their first ever match beyond the group stage of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, USA sputtered through the majority of their innings after choosing to bat first in a lackluster effort as the Netherlands backed up an assured fielding display with a rip-roaring start to their chase to easily brush aside USA by 21 runs on DLS Method at Tribhuvan University Stadium. The win for the Netherlands secured a berth in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England as they moved to six points with two matches to play. 
 
Bangladesh also clinched a T20 World Cup berth with a 39-run win over Thailand to move to six points. USA and Thailand both can only finish with a maximum of four points with two match days to play, meaning neither have any mathematical chance to catch the respective Group A and Group B toppers during the Super Six stage. 
 

USA had their slowest Powerplay of the tournament, ending at 23 for 1 after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. To make matters worse, they continued to inch along to 58 for 2 after 13 overs. A late flurry took them to 129 for 7 but the total looked significantly under par and that was highlighted by the first half of the Dutch reply in which they advanced to 57 for 1 by the end of the Powerplay, putting them far ahead of the DLS Par score at every stage of the chase until rain stopped play at 90 for 2 in 12 overs with the DLS part score sitting at 69. 
 
USA made one change to their lineup from the last-day group stage win over Papua New Guinea as Player of the Match Lekha Shetty was left out in favor of Taranum Chopra with USA preferring an extra spin option for conditions at Tribhuvan University Stadium where they were playing for the first time after having all of their group matches at Mulpani. However, the selection decision was rendered irrelevant after the limp batting display for much of the first innings doomed their chances of notching a first ever win against the Netherlands. 
 
USA racked up 24 dots in the first six overs before ending on 23 for 1. Of the 46 innings played in the tournament so far, USA’s total was the second lowest Powerplay score of any team. Only Thailand’s score of 15 for 2 in six overs against Scotland was worse, and they ended on 118 for 6 in a lopsided Scotland win. The lone wicket to fall in the sequence for USA came about in somewhat bizarre fashion as Chetna Reddy Pagydyala followed up a boundary by being bowled behind her legs for 12 by Heather Siegers in a decision that went to the third umpire to see whether Netherlands wicketkeeper captain Babette de Leede helped the bails come out of the groove, which would have resulted in a not out stumping decision, instead of the actuality in which the stumps were gently disturbed after Pagydyala shuffled across her stumps expecting a wide only for the ball to graze leg stump to remove one bail. 
 
Ella Claridge entered at No. 3 and after playing out four dots to end the sixth over, the right-hander got off the mark pulling a no ball over waist height for four behind square leg. But in a harbinger of things to come for USA, Claridge fanned on the free hit that followed in what would be the first of three instances where a USA player failed to score off a free hit following a no ball from a Dutch bowler. But the ultimate frustration for Claridge occurred in the eighth over when she waved over a thigh high full toss from offspinner Silver Siegers and was bowled for 5 to make it 36 for 2. 
 
Isani Vaghela joined Gargi Bhogle and the pair added 10 off the following over thanks to a charge down the pitch from Bhogle to loft Caroline de Lange’s legspin over mid-off for four. But the pair added just 11 runs off the following four overs as Vaghela in particular struggled. The 20-year-old swung through a waist high full toss in the 12^th from medium pacer Hannah Landheer and ended the 13^th over on 9 off 18 balls with USA 58 for 2. 
 
Bhogle survived a chance on 26 in the 14^th when Robine Rijke misjudged a chance that lobbed up toward her at mid-off as she ran in only for the ball to land behind her for 2. Bhogle then heaved a six over midwicket later in the over off Frederique Overdijk as part of a 13-run over. But Bhogle fell in the 15^th for a top score of 36 off 37 balls when she slog-swept de Lange flat to Sterre Kalis at deep midwicket who held onto a catch at head height to make it 71 for 3. After hitting her first ball for four over square leg, Ritu Singh flubbed two free hits and was then out for 5 off five balls to de Lange when she checked her shot on a length ball to offer a simple catch lobbing up to Heather Siegers at short extra cover to make it 79 for 4. 
 
Tara Norris was promoted up to No. 6 to offer a left-hand contrast alongside Vaghela but lasted just four balls to make 5 before Landheer had her out driving to Rijke at mid-on where a juggling catch was eventually held onto diving forward to make it 84 for 5 in the 16^th. USA Women’s captain Aditi Chudasama tried to clear Rijke first ball with a lofted drive against Landheer but instead was caught on the ring to put Landheer on a hat-trick. 
 
Netherlands could have had three wickets in the space of four balls to start the 17^th but Silver Siegers dropped a basic return chance off Vaghela on 14 off 23 balls to allow the innings to continue and she struck her first boundary down the ground two balls later in a seven-run over. New batter Pooja Ganesh then built off of that in the following over against Landheer by striking a four off the first ball, then leaping up to slash a no ball full toss for six over third man before coming down the track on the free hit and driving Landheer for four over extra cover in a sequence that saw USA collect 15 runs off two legal deliveries. Crucially, Ganesh turned down a single to point off the next ball and paid the price when she was bowled by Landheer for 15 after missing a scoop to make it 110 for 7 with 13 balls to go.
 
Chopra and Vaghela scored off every ball for the rest of the innings, but only one boundary came in the sequence off the bat of Vaghela on the first ball of the 19^th. Ten straight singles followed before a two off the final ball of the innings to take USA to their end total of 129 for 7. Vaghela ended unbeaten on 32 off 35 balls, though her sluggish start severely impacted USA’s chances of posting a bigger total. Chopra ended on 9 not out off 7 balls. 
 
Landheer claimed 3 for 30 off four overs to lead the Dutch attack, which played without the team’s leading wicket-taker Isabel van der Woning. De Lange took 2 for 27 with her legspin while the Siegers sisters each finished with a wicket apiece. Heather returned 1 for 19 off four overs while Silver claimed 1 for 13 off two. Overdijk conceded 0 for 19 off three while Zwilling ended with 0 for 21 off four. 
 
Expectations were low for USA defending a total of 129, but they did not help themselves with a shoddy fielding display. Phebe Molkenboer struck two fours apiece off Norris and Geetika Kodali in the opening two overs, three of which were a consequence of poor fielding at backward point from Bhogle after which she belatedly was moved out of the position in favor of Ganesh. 
 
A much costlier mistake occurred early in the fifth when Chudasama induced a straightforward chance to long-on after Heather Siegers played a loose drive on 3. But Singh shelled a chest high chance reaching across her body going to her right and the ball landed over the rope for six. Siegers struck the following ball for six and then belted another for four in what turned into a 20-run over. Siegers blasted Norris for six down the ground in the sixth over before the carnage ended on the next ball for 28 off 12 balls when her attempt to scoop Norris over fine leg instead found the hands of Vaghela positioned for the shot at 45 on the ring to make it 57 for 1. However, her sharp opening burst combined with a concise spell of offspin in the field ensured Heather was later named Player of the Match in the Dutch win. 
 
Singh should have had Dutch captain de Leede out stumped for 2 in the seventh over but Claridge fluffed a straightforward chance behind the stumps after de Leede was stranded charging down the pitch. But Singh was rewarded for a tidy unbroken four-over spell of offspin when she struck off the third ball of her final over, getting de Leede to chip an easy catch to Norris on the ring at mid-off for 11 to make it 80 for 2 in the 11^th.  
 
Molkenboer swept Saanvi Immadi’s legspin for her seventh four in the following over and later took a single to move her within four runs of a deserved half-century. But looming dark clouds finally produced a sharp rain showed before the first ball of the 13^th over could be bowled and after a 40-minute delay, play was officially called off to spark riotous screams from the Netherlands change room with the knowledge that the result was taking them to their first ever Women’s T20 World Cup. Molkenboer ended not out on 46 off 43 balls while Kalis had a quiet 2 not out off four balls. 
 
Norris extended her team wickets lead at the tournament by finishing with 1 for 18 off her two overs. Singh was the only other wicket-taker, finishing with 1 for 16 off four. The rest of USA’s bowlers were expensive. Kodali never returned after leaking two boundaries to Molkenboer in her lone over to end with 0 for 8. Chudasama was done in by poor fielding to end with 0 for 26 off two. Immadi sent down two overs of innocuous legspin to end with 0 for 14 and Chopra bowled one over that ended with 0 for 8. 
 
USA has a rest day on Thursday before returning to action against Thailand. In the day’s other result on Wednesday, Scotland defeated Ireland by 39 runs. The combination of results means that USA must beat Thailand on Friday to stay alive with a chance at qualification for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. It also means that a win for Scotland over Bangladesh on Friday would clinch a second consecutive Women’s T20 World Cup berth. Ireland also controls their own destiny and can still clinch a T20 World Cup berth by winning their final two matches against Netherlands and Thailand.