18-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Pooja Ganesh cashed in on sloppy fielding from Nepal to notch a T20I career-best 47 as part of a gritty fightback to help USA to a win on the opening day of the ICC Women's Challenge Trophy. 

File photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Four balls into play, USA looked like they could be on their way to another miserable defeat during their tour of Africa. But 40 minutes later, they were on firmer footing thanks to a USA Women’s T20I record 75-run third-wicket partnership between Pooja Ganesh and Chetna Reddy Pagydyala that steered USA to safety before USA’s bowlers burrowed through a thin Nepal batting lineup to clinch a 44-run win on day one of the inaugural ICC Women’s Challenge Trophy at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium in Rwanda. Ganesh made Nepal pay for multiple missed chances on 0 and 7 to make a career-best 47 in USA’s total of 123 for 6 before Nepal were restricted to 79 for 9 in reply. 
 
Nepal won the toss and sent USA in to bat first on an overcast day following a morning match that had multiple stoppages due to rain. They had USA in trouble in the first over after left-arm spinner Manisha Upadhayay struck twice to remove Sainavi Kambalapalli and Isani Vaghela on consecutive deliveries. Kambalapalli fell for 2 when a leading edge ballooned to point before Vaghela was beaten playing back to be bowled for a golden duck making it 2 for 2. 
 
Nepal had a golden opportunity to put USA under even more pressure in the second over with Ganesh having just entered at No. 4 to join Pagydyala, but a lofted drive by Ganesh on her fourth delivery toward the cover sweeper off Kabita Kunwar was misjudged by the boundary fielder and wound up landing behind her and going over the rope for a boundary. Two overs later, Kunwar created another chance as Ganesh sliced a ball gently to point at head height, but a basic chance was grassed with Ganesh on 7. Rather than USA going three down, Ganesh and Pagydyala rubbed salt into the wound for another 10 overs as they set a USA Women’s T20I record for a third-wicket partnership and finished with the third highest USA Women’s T20I partnership for any wicket. 
 
Similar to Ganesh, Pagydyala also survived a misjudged chance on the boundary as a flick to deep square leg off left-arm spinner Rachana Chaudhary on 20 in the 12^th over landed safely for two runs. Pagydyala finally fell in the 14^th over to end the stand when legspinner Riya Sharma replaced Chaudhary and induced a heave to deep midwicket that was taken by Kabita Joshi for 30 to make it 77 for 3. 
 
Gargi Bhogle entered at No. 5 and played a superb finishing knock for USA, racking up five fours during her 34 off 27 balls to give USA a crucial late acceleration. However, she also benefitted from poor Nepal fielding as a chance at extra cover was put down on 20 in the 18^th over off the bowling of Chaudhary and was spilled again on 32 off Samjhana Khadka at long-on off the bowling of Joshi one over later. 
 
Medium pacer Kunwar returned at the death to spark a triple-wicket over while conceding just three runs. Ganesh fell on the first ball of the over, mishitting a full toss to midwicket that was fielding cleanly by Joshi and relayed to Kunwar over the non-striker’s stumps to end Ganesh’s innings three runs short of what would have been a maiden half-century. After a single by Bhogle put new batter Ritu Singh on strike, Singh slapped a length ball straight to cover and set off on contact as Indu Barma fired a direct hit from 15 yards away into the non-striker’s stumps to send off Singh for a duck. Bhogle then fell on the penultimate ball when she walked too far across her stumps and was bowled behind her legs with a yorker from Kunway. A bye taken off the final ball between Taranum Chopra and Aditi Chudasama pushed USA to their final total. 
 
Kunwar was arguably Nepal’s best bowler on the day but had multiple chances grassed off her bowling and finished with 1 for 17 off four overs. Upadhayay ended with Nepal’s best figures on the day but didn’t strike any more after the opening over to finish with 2 for 18 off four. Sharma was Nepal’s only other wicket-taker, claiming 1 for 20 off four. Joshi was Nepal’s most expensive bowler in terms of economy, conceding 0 for 20 off two overs. Meanwhile, Chaudhary’s figures were also spoiled by weak fielding to end with 0 for 28 off three. 
 
Just as Nepal did with the ball, USA struck with their third delivery in the field but it wound up being a far more consequential blow as the hard-hitting Khadka followed up a second-ball boundary over midwicket by skying another heave off Maahi Madhavan to the leg side where Pagydyala charged in from the midwicket rope and pulled off a wondrous diving catch to dismiss the opener for 6. By the end of the Powerplay, USA’s bowlers had struck three more times to leave Nepal in a massive hole. 
 
Chudasama claimed the key wicket of Puja Mahato in the second over for 5 after a top-edged sweep popped up gently for Ganesh to run out from behind the stumps and take an easy catch in front of Mahato to make it 12 for 2. Singh replaced Madhavan in the third over and lucked out when Indu Barma slapped a half-tracker straight to Chudasama at extra cover for 1 to make it 13 for 3. After a four on her first delivery to get off the mark, Kunwar struggled to time the ball for the rest of her stay in the middle and racked up 10 straight dot balls before being beaten on a drive and bowled by Lekha Shetty on the final ball of the sixth over to make it 23 for 4. 
 
Nepal never seriously threatened the rest of the way as they scored just a solitary boundary outside of the Powerplay, which came in the final over when they were already seven wickets down. Kambalapalli took her maiden T20I wicket in the ninth when Roma Thapa charged down the pitch to loft a catch to Singh at long-on for 5 to make it 32 for 5. Madhavan returned to the attack in the 10^th and induced a top-edged pull from Rubina Chhetry that was held by Jivana Aras at square leg for 2 to make it 36 for 6 at the halfway point of the innings. 
 
After a lull for the next five overs, USA finally struck again in the 16^th when Joshi heaved a catch to Bhogle at long-off for 11 to give Chopra her first wicket at 61 for 7. Opener Bindu Rawal’s painstaking innings entered the final over standing at 22 off 44 balls. She wound up hitting Chopra to deep midwicket where Vaghela misfielded the ball to allow Rawal’s first and only boundary. However, Rawal ran herself out on the very next ball for 27 when she took on Vaghela’s relay to Ganesh for a non-existent second run to make it 79 for 8. Sharma was out for a golden duck next ball when the right-hander slapped a catch to cover where Vaghela was positioned in the ring for the new batter to make it 79 for 9. No. 11 Upadhayay was able to survive the last ball of play from Chopra to save her side from being bowled out. 
 
Madhavan’s impressive tour of Africa continued in the tournament opener as she ended with 2 for 11 off her two overs. Chopra claimed 2 for 14 off three after being the seventh bowler introduced to USA’s attack in the 16^th over. Shetty ended as USA’s most economical bowler on the day, returning 1 for 6 off two overs. The lead spin trio of Chudasama, Singh and Kambalapalli all bowled four overs and finished with figures of 1 for 13, 1 for 14 and 1 for 15 respectively. 
 
USA is off on Sunday and Monday before returning to action on Tuesday against hosts Rwanda, who lost the tournament opener earlier on Saturday to Italy. The visitors posted a total of 72 for 1 in 11 overs in an innings twice interrupted by rain. Set an adjusted seven-over DLS target of 67, Rwanda finished on 50 for 4.