ICC T-20 World Cup Qualifier: Nepal beats Singapore by 8 wickets (photos)

KATHMANDU: Nepal defeated Singapore in the Asia Qualifier for the ICC T20 World Cup.

Nepal defeated Singapore by 8 wickets in the tournament’s opening match on Monday.

Kushal Bhurtel’s impressive fifty as the opener paved the way for Nepal’s victorious start in the T20 World Cup qualifiers.

Nepal successfully chased down Singapore’s target of 146 runs, losing only 2 wickets in a mere 16.3 overs.

Kushal Bhurtel batted brilliantly in Nepal’s win. Kushal scored 74 runs off 48 balls with the help of 8 fours and 2 sixes before being dismissed with 1 run needed. Aasif got out with 27 runs off 26 balls.

Captain Rohit Paudel scored 35 runs in 24 balls while Kushal Malla remained unbeaten with 6 runs in one ball. Singapore’s Anantha Krishna and Akshay Puri took one wicket each.

In the previous innings, Singapore managed to accumulate a total of 145 runs, with the loss of 9 wickets.

Among Singapore’s batting lineup, three players delivered commendable performances. Rohan Rangrajan led the way with an impressive 46 runs from 30 balls, while Manpreet Singh contributed 24 runs from 26 balls.

Rohan’s innings included 9 fours and 1 six, while Singh hit 3 fours. Aryaveer Chaudhary remained unbeaten with a score of 37 runs from 26 balls, featuring 5 fours. However, the rest of the batting order struggled to make double-digit scores, as three players were dismissed for zero runs.

Nepal’s bowlers had a productive outing, with Abinash Bohara claiming 3 wickets, while Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, and Sandeep Lamichhane each secured 2 wickets.

Karan conceded 36 runs in his 4 overs, Abhinash gave away 43 runs, Sandeep allowed 18 runs, and Gulshan 21 runs. Sompal Kami bowled 4 overs and, despite being economical with 21 runs, remained wicketless.

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