Kathmandu – Nepal National team defeated Himachal Pradesh on their first practice match by 5 wickets at Dharamsala Cricket Ground today.
Nepal won the toss and invited Himachal Pradesh to bat first. Half century by Raghav Dhawan helped Himachal to pile up 143/7 in their 20.0 overs. Nakul Raj (20), Abhimanyu Rana (21), Amit Kumar (19), Amit Thakur (12) were the other contributors. Basant Regmi took 3 wickets in his 4.0 overs (4-0-27-3) while Jitendra Mukhiya (4-0-33-1) and Sompal Kami (4-1-12-1) shared wicket apiece.
In reply, Nepal chased the target losing 5 wickets in their 20.0 overs. Openers Subash Khakurel (29 off 27 balls) and Sagar Pun (23 off 29 balls) made a half-century partnership in 7.3 overs. Gyanendra Malla managed 19 runs off 21 balls while Skipper Paras Khadka could only score 7 off 11 balls without any boundary to his name. The 47* runs partnership between Sharad Vesawkar and Pradeep Airee for sixth wickets rescued Nepal and helped Nepalese team to win their practice match.
Akash Sharma (4-0-20-3) was the pick of the bowler for Himachal Pradesh as he managed to rip three wickets in his 4 overs.
