In a nail-biting finish, Nepali batsmen held nerves in final overs to register a two-wicket victory over Hong Kong in the ACC Twenty20 Cup at the TU Cricket Ground.
Nepal needed 26 off last two overs chasing Hong Kong’s 114/9 in 20 overs and it looked easy with captain Paras Khadka, playing at 44, at the center. However, he was out next ball trying an unorthodox flick to Irfan Ahmed.
Ahmed had bowled brilliantly until then taking two wickets giving away just 7 runs. But then it went all wrong with him, and he ended up giving away 18 runs in next four balls that included a couple of no-balls.
Before ending the over, he however set the match on wire bowling out big-hitting Pradeep Airee, who tried dilscoop and was bowled out for 5. Nepal needed 8 runs off last over with Basant Regmi and Rahul Biswokarma at the center.
Basant drove to square for a four on third ball and victory was two runs away. Basant took a single to tie the score and Rahul played a dot ball next. On the last ball, Rahul flicked to leg-slip, whose direct hit could have tied the match, but it didn’t hit and approximately 10,000 fans at the stadium went wild.
Gyanendra Malla played swiftly for 19. Photo by PhotoEverest.com
The foundation for the victory was however set by captain Paras Khadka, who got 44, and vice-captain Gyanendra Malla, who was unluckily run-out on 19, after other batsmen could not do much. Basant ended at unbeaten 17 off 9 balls.
Nepal had begun badly with both the openers, Anil Mandal, Subash Khakurel, and Mehboob Alam going out cheaply. Prithu Baskota got 13 off 18 with a six but he wasted too many balls trying to play shots rather than giving strikes to Paras at the time when he was going well.
Captain Paras Khadka played an all-round knock to lead Nepal to victory. Photo by PhotoEverest.com
Earlier, Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat first. Ahmed launched a little cameo as they raced to 33 off first two overs, punishing Amrit Bhattarai. Basant got him in third over and Nepal was back on track with spin and pace making it difficult for Hong Kong to score runs.
Amhed made 25, other opener B Hayat got 20 and Munir Dar in the middle scored 12 but none of other batsmen scored double-digit.
Basant and Mehboob returned with 2/14 each while Paras also grabbed two wickets. Amrit and Rahul Biswokarma claimed a wicket each.
Brief Scorecard: Hong Kong 114/9 in 20 overs (I Ahmed 25, B Hayat 20, M Alam 2/14, B Regmi 2/14) lost to Nepal 115/8 in 20 overs (P Khadka 44, G Malla 19, I Ahmed 3/25) by 2 wickets. MoM: Paras Khadka (Nepal)
Cricket Nepal (cricket.com.np) provided live scores and commentary for the match. Click ‘Replay’ below to read the live commentaries.