Nepali national cricket team suffered a loss in first practice match of its India tour as U-25 team of Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) defeated it by four wickets on Monday at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi.
DDCA U-25 elected to field and restricted Nepal at 137/5 in allotted 20 overs. Opener Sagar Pun scored only three runs but another opener Subash Khakurel and Gyanendra Malla put up a 77-run partnership for the second wicket. Malla garnered 26 runs off 33 balls. However, Varun Sood claimed both the wickets of Malla and Khakurel in the 13th over. Khakurel clobbered 45 runs off 40 balls before getting out. Khakurel hit five boundaries and a six.
Captain Paras Khadka blasted unbeaten 39 runs off 26 balls including three boundaries and two sixes. Binod Bhandari added 11 runs off 12 ball and Sharad Vesawkar scored six runs off eight balls. Vesawkar was short to the crease in the last ball of the innings.
Besides Sood, Vikram Dahiya and Yogesh Nagar claimed a wicket each.
Chasing the modest total, DDCA U-25 reached the target with five balls remaining and by losing six wickets. Opener Dhruv Shorey remained unbeaten with 73 runs off 46 balls to seal the victory. Shorey clobbered 12 boundaries and a six. Pawan Negi hit 26 runs off 16 balls and Aditya Kaushik scored 15 runs off 16 balls.
Jitendra Mukhiya and Basant Regmi took two wickets each for Nepal while skipper Khadka claimed a wicket and involved in a run-out.
Nepal will take on the same team at the Roshanara Club Ground on Tuesday. Nepal is scheduled to play seven practice matches in its Delhi tour.
Nepal has been touring the Indian capital in its preparation bid for the upcoming ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE from November 15 to 30. Nepal is slatted in the group B of the qualifiers along with Afghanistan, Scotland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Bermuda and Denmark.
The top six teams of the qualifiers will progress to World T20 2014 to be held in Bangladesh.