KATHMANDU, JUN 18 - Nepal lost a closely contest friendly twenty20 cricket match against Himachal Pradesh XI by seven runs at the Himchal Pradesh Cricket Assocaition ground in Dharamshala, India on Wednesday.
Chasing 151-run victory target, Nepal fell agonising short making 143-7 in their allotted 20 overs. Slow scoring rate eventually cost Nepal despite a late burst of runs from skipper Paras Khadka and Rajesh Pulami. The Nepali team are in India as part of their first phase of traning camp for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Ireland and Scotland.
It was the second successive defeat for the touring side after winning the first two matches against the same outfits. Khadka remained unbeaten on 36, his 33-ball knock included three hits to the fence and a six. Pulami stroked 16-ball 23 that included two boundaries and a six.
Earlier, openers Gyanendra Malla and Anil Kumar Mandal put on a superb 38-run stand to lay the foundation for Nepal’s run chase. But other batsmen failed to capitalise on the start and the required run rate kept soaring and eventually, as it turn out, beyong the reach of even explosive skipper Khadka. Malla scored run-a-ball 29 which included four fours, while Mandal made painstaking 15 off 26 balls.
Shresht Nirmohi and Rahul Singh were the pick of the Himachal Pradesh bolwers with two wickets each. Pankaj Sharma, Sumeet Verma and Raghav Dhawan claimed one wicket apiece.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh were precarioysly at 26-3 by the sixth over thanks to two wickets from Avinash Karn and one from Padeep Airee. But No 3 batsman Abhimayu Rana and skipper Amit Kumar put on a marvelous 113-run stand for the fourth wicket to turn the tide for the home team.
Rana remained unbeaten on 67, his 60-ball innings featuring six boudaries and a six. Kumar was even more aggressive, clobbering 36-ball 49 that included three sixes and two fours. Karn returned with figures of 2-15 from
four overs, while Airee, Jitendra Mukhiya and Basanta Regmi grabbed one wicket each for Nepal.
Nepal will embark on yet another practice tour of England on June 24 upon their arrival from India on June 20. Team Nepal is scheduled to play four practice matches against renowned clubs of England. After the England stop, Nepal will travel to the Netherlands for a four-match twenty20 internationals before the Qualifiers kicks off on July 9. Ahead of their Qualifers, Nepal will play official warmup matches against the United Arab Emirates and Oman in Ireland. Nepal will open their Qualifier campaign with a match against United States on July 10.
Nepal made their mark in international cricket by qualifying for the 2014 World T20, but failed to get past the group stage, finishing second after Bangladesh in Group A with two wins in three games
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