Nepal has faced a defeat against Pakistan A in the first match of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Pakistan A bagged a four-wicket win with 101 balls spare while chasing 180.
Tayyab Tahir scored the highest 51-run knock for the winning side. Omair Bin Yousaf and Kamran Ghulam added 36 and 31 runs, respectively. They chased the target in 32.5 overs, losing six wickets.
Lalit Rajbanshi picked up three wickets for Nepal. Pawan Sarraf grabbed two wickets, whereas Kushal Malla pocketed one.
Earlier, Nepal managed 179 runs on the board after opting to bat first. Pakistan’s fast bowler did a terrific job early on to dismantle Nepal’s inning.
Aasif Sheikh started with three boundaries in the first over. However, Nepal continuously lost the wicket and were six down for 43 runs after the end of the powerplay. Kushal Bhurtel (1), Aasif Sheikh (12), Rohit Paudel (4), Bhim Sharki (0), Arjun Saud (17) and Pawan Sarraf (1) were back in the shed.
Kushal Malla and Gulshan Jha were also dismissed swiftly after scoring 17 and 13 runs, respectively. Sompal Kami and Pratish GC shared 58 runs for the ninth wicket to rescue Nepal from the position of 72/8. Pratish scored 24-ball 26 with two biggies.
Sompal Kami scored a half-century to guide Nepal to a respective total. He completed fifty in 77 balls with eight boundaries. Eventually, he was dismissed for 75 from 101 balls with nine fours and two sixes.
For Pakistan, Fast bowlers Shahnawaz Dahani and Muhammad Wasim Jr, who have good experience playing for the senior team, started fiercely. Dahani picked up the last wicket to complete a fifer, whereas Wasim picked up four wickets.
