Nepal crash out of Hong Kong sixes after back-to-back defeats

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s campaign at the Hong Kong Sixes Cricket tournament ended in disappointment, as the team was knocked out from the group stage after losing both matches in Group ‘A’.

Nepal suffered a second defeat on Saturday morning, losing to South Africa by 4 wickets.

Defending a modest target of 59 runs, Nepal could not hold off the strong South African batting lineup. South Africa reached the target in just 3.4 overs, despite losing four wickets.

Blake Simpson played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 30 runs from just 9 balls, which included 2 fours and 3 sixes. Jorich van Schalkwyk contributed 17 runs, while Abdullah Beyoome scored 16.

Captain Jordan Morris, however, was dismissed for a duck. For Nepal, Lokesh Bam picked up 2 wickets but the effort was not enough to change the outcome.

Earlier, Nepal were bowled out for 58 runs in 3.3 overs after choosing to bat first. Rashid Khan top-scored with 16 runs, followed by Lokesh Bam with 14 and Mohammad Adil Alam with 13.

Captain Sandeep Jora managed only 6, while Basir Ahmad was dismissed without scoring. South Africa’s Abdullah Beyoome, Blake Simpson and Jorich van Schalkwyk each took two wickets to restrict Nepal to a low total.

Nepal had also lost their opening match on Friday, going down to Afghanistan by 17 runs.

With two defeats, Nepal finished at the bottom of Group ‘A’, while Afghanistan and South Africa advanced to the quarterfinals.

The top two teams from each group qualify for the knockout stage.

Group ‘B’ features Australia, England and UAE, while Group ‘C’ consists of India, Kuwait and Pakistan. Group ‘D’ includes Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.