USA went from needing nine runs per over across the final five overs to less than a run a ball during the 19th over, but Gargi Bhogle and Aditi Chudasama stumbled at the final hurdle after doing the hard work earlier against Rwanda. 

File photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
For the second time on the tour of Africa, USA has come out on the wrong side of a one-run margin as Rwanda captain Marie Bimenyimana conceded just five singles off the final over in which USA needed seven to win as they ultimately fell just short of chasing down a target of 128 on match day three of the ICC Women’s Challenge Trophy. Needing three to win and two to tie off the final two balls with Gargi Bhogle on strike on 35, the left-hander swung over consecutive full length balls from Bimenyimana as a meaningless bye was run off the final delivery to create the final margin. 
 
It was a deserved win for the hosts, who have now bounced back with two straight wins after a rain-marred opening day loss in which they were essentially set a DLS adjusted target to score virtually the same number of runs in seven overs that Italy had taken 11 to score. 
 
“I think we didn’t start too well on the bowling side,” said USA Women’s captain Aditi Chudasama after the loss. “There are a lot of ifs and buts but I think at the end of the day it was a good fight from the girls and we’ll definitely look to come back stronger.”
 
Chudasama’s post-match presentation comments were in reference to Rwanda’s opening partnership as the pair of Fanny Utagushimaninde and eventual Player of the Match Gisele Ishimwe put on 77 for the first wicket, including 49 in the six-over Powerplay. Ishimwe was especially harsh to medium pacer Lekha Shetty, hitting her for a trio of boundaries in the fifth over. This came after Ishimwe had already demonstrated her aggressive intent by latching on to a half-volley from Maahi Madhavan in the third over and lofting it back over the bowler’s head for six. 
 
USA had a chance to break the stand in the ninth over with Ishimwe on 32 when Sainavi Kambalapalli induced a skied pull toward Bhogle at deep square leg. But Bhogle hesitated to go forward to create a catching opportunity, opting to instead let the ball land five feet in front of her but then compounded her initial misjudgement by letting the ball bounce past her to the rope for a boundary as a member of USA’s management team reacted with visible frustration from the team dugout just meters away. USA missed another chance one over later in the 10^th as Utagushimaninde skied a pull off Ritu Singh toward Isani Vaghela at deep midwicket, who was late coming in off the rope before charging forward with a diving effort that went through her hands and allowed the opener to move from 28 to 30. 
 
The partnership was finally broken in the 12^th by Taranum Chopra in her first over of the day when a half-tracker was loosely slapped by Ishimwe to Chudasama at rib height on the ring at extra cover for a simple catch to dismiss Ishimwe for 42 off 34 balls. USA’s fightback in the field continued in the following over when Jivana Aras claimed Utagushimaninde on a skied heave toward long-on where Singh took a sharp catch on the run coming in from the rope for 32 to make it 82 for 2. 
 
USA had a chance to make further inroads in the 16^th over when Chudasama got Clarisse Uwase to miscue a shot that floated gently toward Vaghela on the ring at cover, but a basic chest high chance was spilled on 5. The left-hander rubbed salt into the wound by adding another 14 runs to her score including the only three in the match followed by a four struck off Kambalapalli as part of a 12-run 18^th over that helped turn momentum back to the hosts. Uwase finally fell to Madhavan in the 19^th, bowled between her legs after swinging over a yorker to make it 115 for 3 with nine balls left. But new batter Henriette Ishimwe kept the score moving for Rwanda by blasting her second ball for six back over Madhavan and into the sightscreen. 
 
Rwanda only scored four runs off the final seven balls of the innings though as Chopra took her second wicket of the day in the final over, getting Ishimwe to charge past a flighted ball for a simple stumping completed by Pooja Ganesh for 9 to make it 126 for 4. A single taken off the final ball of the innings by new batter Merveille Uwase created the winning margin for Rwanda. Alice Ikuzwe played a handy knock after entering at No. 3 to end not out on 16 off 22 balls. 
 
Chopra ended with 2 for 5 in just two overs to finish as USA’s standout bowler. Aras returned 1 for 17 off three overs while Madhavan took 1 for 21 off four. The spin trio of Chudasama, Singh and Kambalapalli combined to bowl 10 overs for 67 runs and no wickets, though each of them had a chance put down off their bowling. Shetty never returned following her lone over in the fifth that leaked 14 runs. 
 
In contrast to Rwanda’s Powerplay, USA stuttered in their first six overs of the chase to reach 37 for 3 after six overs. It could have been even worse had Rwanda’s catching been sharper. Sainavi Kambalapalli was dropped on the second ball of the innings at backward square leg and went on to make 24 off 17 balls. At the other end, Chetna Pagydyala was not as lucky and the left-hander fell in the third over for 1 when she skied a drive to mid-off where Henriette Ishimwe took a superb over the shoulder catch running back from the edge of the 25-yard circle to secure a wicket for captain Marie Bimenyimana at 8 for 1. 
 
Vaghela survived a simple catch at long-on on 2 that was shelled by Gisele Ishimwe, but the same fielder atoned for the error on the very next ball when Vaghela was runout for 3 after failing to make it back to the non-striker’s end on an attempted second run for Kambalapalli. The teenage striker lofted a drive wide of Ishimwe for what should have been an easy two runs, but neither USA player was running at full speed for the duration of the sequence. By the time Ishimwe fielded and relayed a throw in, either USA player could have been run out but Rosine Irera opted to take the bails off at the non-striker’s end as Vaghela’s dive was in vain to make it 22 for 2. Ganesh lasted just six balls before she fell for 6, lacing a pull flat to Ikuzwe at midwicket in the ring off the bowling of Henriette Ishimwe to make it 35 for 3. 
 
Kambalapalli then gave her wicket away on the first ball after the end of the Powerplay, heaving a catch to Belise Murukatete at deep midwicket off the spin of Rosette Shimwamana to make it 37 for 4. Rwanda had another opportunity to put USA in an even deeper hole on what should have been a second wicket of the over for Shimwamana. But new batter Singh had a straightforward chance at deep square leg spilled over the rope for six to take her to 10 off 5 balls. Singh left no doubt with her second six in the 11^th over, heaving a half-tracker 15 yards over the rope at deep midwicket to move to 22 as USA’s required run rate fell to less than a run a ball. 
 
Just when it looked like USA had all the momentum, it ground almost to a halt nearly as quickly. Over the next 27 balls, USA scored just 11 singles and lost the wicket of Singh while Bhogle was also dropped on 11. Bhogle’s chance came first as Murukatete shelled a simple opportunity at deep cover. But Singh fell one over later in the 14^th for 26, skying a catch to Bimenyimana 10 yards inside the rope at long-off for Henriette’s second wicket as a 40-run stand ended at 77 for 5. 
 
Chudasama joined Bhogle and the pair headed into the final five overs needing 47 runs to win having not struck a boundary since the 11^th over. But they found their first slice of luck off the bat of Bhogle when a thick edge went past the keeper standing up to the stumps to go for four through third man as part of a nine-run over. Nine more runs came off the 17^th with help of an overthrow from a poor backup on a throw at the stumps. 
 
Chudasama drew USA closer to victory when she latched onto a half-tracker from Irera in the 18^th and yanked it well beyond the midwicket rope for six as part of a 13-run over. She also survived a botched runout chance two balls after the six when on 20 after a relay from cover was sent to Irera in time to take the bails off if not for the bowler losing her footing before her body fell away from the stumps. 
 
Bhogle had a near identical sequence in the 19^th over, slapping a length ball for six down the ground off Henriette before a dropped chance next ball when wicketkeeper Merveille Uwase could not hold onto a thick edge with Bhogle on 31 as a single was taken. But USA could only manage two more singles off the final four balls of the over as the equation of nine needed off 10 balls turned to seven needed off six following a full toss that Bhogle swung through. 
 
It meant USA entered the final over needing seven to win or six to force a Super Over. After four singles took the equation down to three off two balls, Bhogle shuffled across her stumps to the final two deliveries while aiming to drag to the leg side, but flailed and missed on each occasion at balls from Bimenyimana sent down on a fullish length outside off stump to ensure the hosts escaped with two points. Chudasama ended on 24 not out off 22 balls alongside Bhogle’s 35 off 35. 
 
“I think it’s just really important to minimize the dot ball percentage and just keep looking to at least, if not a double or a boundary, look to get the single,” Chudasama said after the loss. “I think that was working really well for me. I think probably in the middle we slowed down a little bit. So I think that’s what kind of cost us but like I said we’ll definitely come back stronger.”
 
Henriette Ishimwe ended with 2 for 20 off four overs as Rwanda’s best bowler on the day. Final over hero Bimenyimana ended with 1 for 15 off four overs to finish as Rwanda’s most economical bowler on the day. Shimwamana was the only other wicket-taker, claiming 1 for 24 off three. 
 
In the day’s other match, Italy chased down a target of 115 with three balls to spare to beat Vanuatu by four wickets. Ilenia Sims was named Player of the Match after scoring 61 not out off 51 balls at No. 3 in Italy’s chase. The win took Italy to four points as they bounced back from a loss to Nepal in their previous match following a win over Rwanda on the first day of the event. 
 
USA returns to action on Wednesday afternoon when they take on Vanuatu, who remain the only winless team in the tournament having lost each of their first two matches. Prior to that, Rwanda will take on Nepal in the first match of the day.