A 68-run stand between Nikhar Doshi and Pooja Ganesh set a USA Women's T20I fifth-wicket record, eclipsing a mark that had been held by Onika Wallerson and Sindhu Sriharsha, to set up USA's win over Namibia. 

Photo credit: Cricket Uganda

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
A disappointing tour ended on a positive note on Saturday for the USA Women as they won the third place match in the Victoria T20 Series, defeating Namibia by 28 runs at Entebbe. After struggling once again in the early part of the match, USA rode an unbroken 68-run fifth-wicket partnership between Pooja Ganesh and Nikhar Doshi to post an easily defendable total of 111 for 4 before bowling out Namibia for 83 in reply. 
 
The partnership between Ganesh and Doshi was a fifth-wicket T20I USA Women’s record, and tied for the ninth highest T20I stand for any wicket in USA Women’s T20I history. The pair surpassed a 65-run fifth-wicket stand between Onika Wallerson and former USA Women’s captain Sindhu Sriharsha made in a win over Canada in the ICC America Women’s Regional T20 World Cup Qualifier at Lauderhill in May 2019.
 
Namibia won the toss and chose to field first as USA made one change to their lineup from two days earlier in the loss to Uganda. Jivana Aras came back in for Lekha Shetty while Maahi Madhavan missed her fourth match in a row after sustaining an undisclosed injury in USA’s loss to Uganda on match day three of the tournament. 
 
As has been the case all tournament, USA looked like they might be in for another struggle with the bat as the opening stand ended just four balls into play when Chetna Pagydyala missed a pull shot on a length ball from Wilka Mwatile that kept low and was given lbw for 1 to make it 2 for 1. Opening partner Sainavi Kambalapalli didn’t fare much better, lasting just 12 balls to score 9 before she drove Victoria Hamunyela’s offspin to Mekelaye Mwatile at cover to make it 17 for 2 in the fifth. 
 
USA could have lost two more wickets before the end of the Powerplay as Isani Vaghela survived a missed runout chance on 4 in the sixth over before Ella Claridge was dropped off the very next ball at square leg before she had gotten off the mark. Claridge subsequently survived a stone dead lbw shout in the next over after missing a flick across the line, but Vaghela finally departed for 12 a few balls later when she pulled a short ball off Eveleen Kejarukua’s offspin to Naomi Benjamin at short midwicket to make it 29 for 3. Claridge survived another botched runout chance in the 11^th over, but ran herself out one ball later for 6 off 19 balls when she drove to mid-off and took on Sylvia Shihepo only for a direct hit to catch Claridge several inches short of the crease to make it 43 for 4. 
 
Considering the lack of USA’s middle-order firepower all tournament, the situation looked bleak just past the halfway point of the first innings when Doshi joined Ganesh in the middle. Namibia had an opportunity to snuff out the partnership in its infancy when Doshi pushed with hard hands at a low full toss to shovel a simple return chance to Arrasta Diergaardt when she was on just 3. But Diergaardt snatched to quickly at the ball as it came back to her with less pace than anticipated off the bat and wound up spilling the rib high chance at 49 for 4 on the last ball of the 12^th. 
 
The pair still looked slightly shaky in the 14^th when they could only scrap a single off a free hit as USA stood at 62 for 4 with six overs left. But the pair scored 49 off the last six overs as Ganesh gave the innings a jolt with three boundaries across the next two overs, including a pair of drives over mid-off and mid-on to begin an 11-run 16^th off Diergaardt. Doshi delivered her first boundary in the 19^th when Kayleen Green dropped a heave to deep midwicket off the bowling of Hamunyela as the ball slipped through her hands and bounced over the rope to bring up the half-century partnership. 
 
Ganesh was dropped on a thin edge behind on 34 to begin the final over off Wilka Mwatile before Doshi drove the next ball for four over wide mid-off. A single put Ganesh back on strike and after a premeditated shuffle across her stumps she seized on a full toss to scoop it over fine leg for her fourth boundary. A trio of singles ended the innings to cap a 12-run final over as USA took momentum into the break. Ganesh ended on 40 not out off 42 balls, USA’s highest individual score of the tournament which was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Ganesh had lodged a pair of ducks in her previous two innings on tour. Doshi finished unbeaten on 29 off 26 balls and ended the tour as USA’s only batter to cross 100 runs in the tournament as she recorded 104 runs in six innings at an average of 26.00 despite having sat out the first match. 
 
Kejarukua ended with Namibia’s best figures on the day, claiming 1 for 16 off four overs. Hamunyela took 1 for 18 off her four while Wilka Mwatile had 1 for 22 off her four overs. Mekelaye Mwatile finished with 0 for 22 including a maiden bowled to Claridge in the eighth over. Diergaardt was Namibia’s least economical bowler, conceding 0 for 20 off her three overs including the dropped chance off Doshi on 3. 
 
With Madhavan still absent, Kodali stepped up to have her best match of the tournament with the new ball. After beginning with a maiden to Edelle van Zyl, Kodali struck twice in the third over to decimate Namibia’s chase before they had a chance to threaten the target. Van Zyl was stumped for 1 with Claridge standing up to Kodali’s medium pace after a lazy prod at a length ball shuffling forward beat the outside edge. A much bigger blow was struck one ball later when Namibia captain Sune Wittmann played a careless heave across the line to a length ball and was out bowled for a golden duck to make it 5 for 2. 
 
Kodali should have had a third wicket in the Powerplay in the fifth over but a sharp chance on a pull shot by Green was spilled by USA captain Aditi Chudasama in the ring at midwicket. However, Ritu Singh kept the pressure on by dismissing Green for 13 with her first ball after entering the attack in the sixth over, inducing a slog to pick out one of the only two boundary riders in the Powerplay, Pagydyala patrolling deep midwicket to pouch a chance while jogging in stride to her left to make it 27 for 3. 
 
Merczerly Gorases registered a six-ball duck when she was removed by Kambalapalli, who induced a miscued slog that floated gently to Doshi in the ring at mid-off to make it 28 for 4 in the seventh. Mekelaye went for a top-score of 15 to spark the drinks break early in the 10^th over when she prodded at a length ball from Taranum Chopra and was bowled through the gate to make it 46 for 5. Chopra struck again in the 12^th to get Shihepo for 2 on a prod down the wrong line to win an lbw appeal at 52 for 6. Chopra completed her Player of the Match haul with the wicket of Diergaardt for 9 in the 14^th, bowled through the gate after a failed cut shot on a ball that turned in sharply to make it 64 for 7. 
 
Singh and Claridge teamed up to runout Wilka Mwatile for 11 in the 16^th over to make it 69 for 8 as Wilka slapped a length ball from Chopra straight to Singh, who fielded cleanly and fired a sharp relay to Claridge over the stumps after Wilka was rightly sent back by Naomi Benjamin. Benjamin fell eight balls later to Chudasama for 3 when a top-edged heave fluttered gently to midwicket where Gargi Bhogle took a catch while on as a sub fielder to make it 75 for 9. Kodali came back for her final over in the 19^th and needed just one more ball to finish the match, bowling No. 11 Kejarukua with a full delivery. 
 
Chopra ended with 3 for 11 off four overs while Kodali produced her best figures of the tournament to end with 3 for 12 off 3.1 overs. Singh returned 1 for 14 off three overs while Kambalapalli took 1 for 18 off her four. USA captain Chudasama had 1 for 15 off three while Aras was the only bowler to finish wicketless on the day for USA, conceding 10 runs in her only over. Kambalapalli and Chudasama finished the tour tied for the team lead with 11 wickets, though Kambalapalli’s average of 10.45 and economy rate of 4.10 were both the best figures by any USA bowler across a team-leading 28 overs. 
 
In the championship match, Uganda held off Rwanda to win by 19 runs. Uganda batted first and posted 94 for 8 before restricting Rwanda to 75 for 9 in reply. Stephanie Nampiina top-scored for Uganda in the first innings with 27 to end with a tournament-best aggregate of 143 runs. Rwanda captain Marie Bimenyimana took 4 for 19 off her four overs, including the wicket of Nampiina, and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17 in seven matches. 
 
USA Women’s next action is expected to be the 2027 ICC Americas Women’s Regional T20 World Cup Qualifier, scheduled to be held next February in Argentina. Prior to that, four members of the touring squad in Uganda – Pagydyala, Kambalapalli, Ganesh and Madhavan – are expected to be a part of USA’s 2027 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup touring squad next January in Nepal. 
 
USA Women’s T20I ranking on the ICC table did not change as a result of their record of two wins and five losses in this event, staying put at No. 20 overall. However, USA’s ranking points dipped from 98 to 95 points, which leaves them 42 ranking points behind 15^th ranked UAE. USA needs to be in the top 15 before December 31 in order to secure qualification to the 2028 Summer Olympics cricket competition in Los Angeles, though there are currently no more matches scheduled for the USA Women between now and the end of the year.