After a crushing one-run loss to Rwanda on day two of the ICC Women's Challenge Trophy, the USA Women have reeled off three impressive victories including Sunday's romp over Nepal to storm to the top of the table. 

Photo credit: ICC

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
USA’s impressive run at the inaugural ICC Women’s Challenge Trophy in Rwanda continued on Sunday as they throttled Nepal by seven wickets after a dominant performance by the bowling unit led to a simple chase of a target of 87 that was wrapped up in just 11.5 overs to strengthen their position at the top of the tournament table. It was USA’s second win over the tournament over Nepal and this time was even more convincing than the first go-around as USA struck on the first ball of play sent down by Maahi Madhavan and never let up. The win moved them to eight points from five matches, two clear of Rwanda. 
 
Madhavan’s remarkable consistency from the first half of the tournament continued immediately in USA’s first match of the second half of the double round-robin event as she induced a skied heave from the dangerous Samjhana Khadka that was safely pouched by Ritu Singh at mid-off. Fellow new ball pacer Lekha Shetty induced a chance in the second over when she had Puja Mahato slicing to backward point but a simple chance was put down by Isani Vaghela moving to her left at waist height. However, Madhavan bowled a maiden in the third to keep pressure on Nepal’s top order and it led to another wicket in the fifth as USA captain Aditi Chudasama bowled a maiden of her own that included the scalp of opener Bindu Rawal for 3, slicing a drive to Taranum Chopra at point to make it 5 for 2. 
 
Nepal continued to struggle after the Powerplay and the sustained pressure led to the third wicket as Mahato charged Ritu Singh’s offspin in the 10^th but could only manage a skied drive taken by Chopra running to her right where she juggled the initial effort before holding on to make it 20 for 3 at the halfway point of the innings. USA had a chance to keep Nepal completely pinned down but let it slip in the first over after the 10-over drinks break when Rubi Poddar flicked a sharp chance through the hands of Lekha Shetty at short midwicket on 7 and the wicketkeeper went on to score more than half the runs for Nepal, finishing with a career-best 51 not out. 
 
At the other end, Kabita Joshi fell in the 13^th, charging Singh to send a catch to Madhavan at long-off which was bobbled initially before being held onto for 1 to make it 27 for 4. Captain Indu Barma missed a full toss to Sainavi Kambalapalli and was given lbw to the legspinner for 8 to make it 53 for 5 in the 17^th. Madhavan returned in the 18^th for her final over and after leaking two boundaries, struck back to get Kabita Kunwar heaving to deep midwicket where Chetna Pagydyala pulled off a tremendous diving catch coming forward off the rope for 8 to make it 64 for 6. 
 
On 33 off 42 balls after 18 overs, Poddar struck two boundaries off Chudasama in the 19^th and entered the final over needing seven runs to get to a maiden fifty. After two dots to start, she skied a drive that was misjudged by Madhavan at long-on, who came in off the rope only for the ball to land inches over the boundary for six to move to 49. Another skied chance next ball to deep square leg landed safely after Gargi Bhogle opted not to put in a dive and it allowed her to get to the landmark. Two more singles between Poddar and Roma Thapa ended the innings to take Nepal to their final total. 
 
Madhavan ended with 2 for 16 off her four overs including a maiden. Singh took 2 for 21 off three overs while Chudasama had a wicket maiden of her own to end with 1 for 20 off four. Kambalapalli was impressive with the ball to finish with 1 for 9 off four. The medium pace pair of Shetty (0 for 9 off three) and Jivana Aras (0 for 8 off two) were the only two bowlers who went wicketless on the day for USA. 
 
USA’s chase was a mix of patience and power as dot balls at one end were balanced out with boundaries at the other. Pagydyala never got going, out for 1 off 7 in the third over driving left-arm spinner Manisha Upadhayay to mid-off. At the other end, Kambalapalli belted five boundaries, frequently going over the top of mid-on and mid-off on her way to 21 off 17 balls before she miscued another attempted drive to send a catch to mid-off for a wicket to Puja Mahato in the sixth making it 25 for 2. 
 
However, Pooja Ganesh took momentum straight back for USA, late cutting her first two deliveries through short third for a pair of boundaries to end the Powerplay. One ball into the seventh over, play was stopped for 15 minutes due to lightning in the area. When play resumed, Ganesh late cut another pair of deliveries with width on over to collect another two boundaries to move to 16 off four balls. 
 
Vaghela started the eighth over on strike on 8 and offered a chance off legspinner Riya Sharma to mid-on where Khadka’s forgettable day continued with a chance put down diving forward as the ball burst out of her hands when her elbows landed on the turf during her diving effort. Vaghela then hit two of her next three shots to the boundary to rub salt into the wound. Back on strike in the ninth, Ganesh yet again found the boundary, this time guiding an attempted yorker from Barma through a gap at point. But Ganesh fell in unlucky circumstances off her next ball for 20 when she attempted to sweep a ball going well down the leg side for what would have been a wide and wound up top-edging an easy catch to short fine leg to make it 60 for 3. 
 
USA then sped to the target across the next few overs as three boundaries came off Barma in the 11^th. The second of those resulted from a dropped chance as Vaghela flicked a low full toss straight through the hands of Sharma at short midwicket on 23 before going to the rope. Vaghela started the 12^th over on strike and punched a six back over Sharma’s head before a single put Gargi Bhogle on strike. The left-hander edged a four past the keeper Poddar to bring USA two runs away from victory before she ended play two balls later driving her third boundary over wide mid-off to end 12 not out. Vaghela was given the Player of the Match award after finishing unbeaten on 35 off 29 balls despite having offered two chances along the way to a short target that set up by USA’s excellent bowling display in the first innings. 
 
Upadhayay ended with 1 for 13 in three overs. Mahato took 1 for 9 off her only over. Barma returned 1 for 18 off her two. Sharma was Nepal’s most expensive, conceding 0 for 25 off 2.5 overs. Left-arm pacer Somu Bist was Nepal’s least economical, giving away 13 runs off her only over. 
 
USA returns to action on Monday against Vanuatu, who lost to Rwanda earlier on Sunday by three runs after they fell just short chasing a target of 134. Vanuatu needed 14 runs off the final over with opener Valenta Langiatu on strike. She hit twos off the first two balls before a dot was followed by a six off the fourth ball. But with just four needed to win off the final two balls, Langiatu could not score off either remaining delivery sent down by Rwanda captain Marie Bimanyimana and ended on 71 not out off 63 balls.