Kathmandu – Nepal failed to win against Netherlands by 44 runs on their first unofficial practice match in the tour to UAE today.
Netherlands put a mammoth 195 for the loss of 6 wickets as Ben Cooper and Peter Borren smashed half centuries. Cooper scored 65 off 46 balls, while Borren smashed 62 off 29 balls. Similary, Mudassar Bukhari collected valuable 31 runs off 8 balls.
Som Pal Kami and Jitendra Mukhiya picked up two wickets each, while Basanta Regmi and Amrit Bhattarai shaded one wicket apiece.
In Reply, Nepali team could only manage 151 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their 20 overs. Opener Subash Khakurel was out for 2 runs. This was his comeback match as he missed ICC World Cup Qualifiers in New Zealand.
Gyanendra Malla and Binod Bhandari scored 39 runs. Malla smashed 5 fours and a six in his 30 balls inning, while Bhandari hit 4 fours a six in his 29 balls knock.
Similarly, Opener Sagar Pun smashed run a ball 15 and Skipper Paras Khadka hit 3 fours and a six for his 31 runs knock. Pradeep Airee was out for a duck.
Mudassar Bukhari and Logan Van Beek took two wickets, while Peter Seelar and Ashan Malik shared one wicket apiece.
Nepal will play UAE on Friday in their second-practice match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and will leave to Bangladesh for their biggest tournament – ICC World Twenty20 2014.
