By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu (HamroKhelkud) – Nepal have qualified for the final of the Triangular Series in Mulpani with a third successive victory. Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 79 runs in their third match of the series to make it into the final.
Hong Kong, chasing a mammoth total of 2014 runs, could only conjure up 134 runs at the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Anshuman Rath scored 45 off 42 with six fours – the highest for Hong Kong in the match. Aizaz Khan made 25 runs in 24 overs with a four and a six, while Babar Hayat scored 20 off 15 with three boundaries.
Haroon Arshad added 12 runs to the total with Scott Mckennie having an 11-run contribution in the innings. Zeeshan Ali scored six runs while the opening pair of Martin Coetzee and skipper Nizakat Khan managed only two runs between them- Coatzee couldn’t score any runs while Khan made two. Ehsan Khan and Mohammad Ghazanfar remained not out with no runs.
For Nepal, Karan KC, Sompal Kami and returning Lalit Rajbanshi took two wickets each. Dipendra Singh Airee and Pratish GC took one apiece.
Earlier, a T20I record fifth wicket partnership between Kushal Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee guided Nepal to a total of 213 runs at the loss of five wickets in the first innings.
Kushal and Dipendra put together a massive 145 runs for the fifth wicket after Nepal had lost four wickets for 55 runs and broke the previous 121-run record of New Zealand duo Mark Chapman and Jimmy Neesham in the process.
Kushal fell short of a century, making 92 off 41 deliveries with three fours and nine sixes. Dipendra made 57 off 34 with six fours and two sixes in his innings.
Nepal lost opener Kushal Bhurtel for just two runs early in the innings. All-rounder Sompal Kami was sent to bat at number three by the team management but that decision didn’t prove to be effective as he could only manage eight runs in 12 deliveries. Another opener Aasif Sheikh was the next to go back to the dugout, making 20 runs in 13 with four fours.
Skipper Rohit Paudel was the next to be dismissed on 11 runs off 16 deliveries, requiring Nepal with a stable partnership in the innings. And Kushal Malla and DS Airee came to Nepal’s rescue. Dipendra was dismissed in the final ball of the penultimate over while Malla was dismissed in the penultimate ball of the innings.
Sundeep Jora and Gulshan Jha remained unbeaten at the end of the innings with one run each from one delivery each.
This is Nepal’s third win of the Tri-Series organized just before the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Regional Qualifiers. Nepal had already registered two wins in the series beforehand- one each against the UAE and Hong Kong. Nepal’s final match of the round-robin stage will be against the UAE on October 23. The final will be played on October 27 at the TU Cricket Ground.
