Nepal registered a six-wicket victory over Hong Kong in the ongoing Nepal T20I Triangular Series held at the Mulpani Cricket Ground in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Nepal shone with the ball as they bundled the visitors for a low score of 94 runs in 19.3 overs. Karan KC grabbed three wickets while Sompal Kami and Abinash Bohara also took two wickets each.
However, the Rhinos lost top order batters Kushal Bhurtel and Kushal Malla cheaply for 8 and 1 run each. Both batters were dismissed by Hong Kong’s Ehsan Khan.
Sundeep Jora was next to go, falling to Khan in 7.3 overs for a meagre 11-ball 3.
Bhurtel’s opening partner Aasif Sheikh held on, as he smashed six hits to the fences, putting up 42 runs on the scoreboard off his 34-knock play. Sheikh was caught by Zeeshan Ali off Yasim Murtaza in 12.1 overs.
Similarly, Captain Rohit Paudel smashed one boundary and two sixes as he scored an unbeaten 24 runs facing 20 deliveries. Gulsan Jha also smashed two sixes to put an unbeaten 5-ball 14 on the scoreboard.
Earlier, after being sent to bat first, Hong Kong’s batting lineup crumbled as only two batters managed to score in double digits.
Yaseem Murtaza top-scored for the visitors, smashing two hits to the fences and six to contribute a 36-ball 36. He was caught by Paudel off Abinash Bohara in 16.3 overs.
Likewise, wicketkeeper Zeeshan Khan also managed a lowly score of 17 runs off 20 balls. He smashed two boundaries before being caught by Kushal Malla off Mousom Dhakal in 13.5 overs.
Nepal had registered a seven-wicket win over UAE in the inaugural match of the Tri-series on Wednesday.
Nepal, the UAE and Hong Kong are playing the tri-series to fine-tune their preparation for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Asia Qualifier, which is scheduled to start in Kathmandu on October 30.
Nepal are pitted alongside Oman, Malaysia and Singapore in Group A of the Asia regional finals. The UAE, Hong Kong, Bahrain and Kuwait are placed in Group B.
The top two teams from each group advance into the semi-finals. The two finalists will qualify for the T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States.
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