Kathmandu – Nepal has registered its second victory in the triangular T20 cricket series by defeating Malaysia by 9 wickets on Monday.
Kushal Bhurtel’s unbeaten 61 and Aasif Shiekh’s quick 29-ball 42 guided Nepal to a nine-wicket win over Malaysia in the third T20I match of the series played at the Tribhuvan International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.
Two successful chases against two International sides with a new Opening combo, making their debut together. What happened next? ⏫116 in 76 balls against Netherlands and 102 in 67 balls against Malaysia. #NepalCricket #NEPvNED #NEPvMAL pic.twitter.com/wenqFtF29O
— cricnepal.com (@cricnepal) April 19, 2021
Nepal completed the target of 110 runs set by Malaysia by losing one wicket in 12.1 overs. The opening stand managed a hundred-run partnership in 11.2 overs. In the previous match against the Netherlands, they also had a century (116) partnership, while chasing 136. Kushal Bhurtel smashed his second fifty in a row from just 26 balls and remained unbeaten on 61.
The new openers & the Bowlers brought the win exactly the same way from the previous match. Once again, Openers Kushal Bhurtel (61*) and Aasif Sheikh (42)'s fearless innings helped to build the chase with a valuable 102 run partnership #NEPvMAL pic.twitter.com/Z6gAOpRxPG
— cricnepal.com (@cricnepal) April 19, 2021
Similarly, another Nepali opener Aasif Sheikh added 42 runs. He struck four fours and a six in 29 balls and added 42 runs. Meanwhile, vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee hit the winning boundary and remained unbeaten on six runs. Birandeep Singh took 1 wicket for Malaysia.
Earlier, losing the toss and batting first, Malaysia lost all their wickets in 16.5 overs and made a total of 109 runs. Saad Aziz of Malaysia contributed the highest 27 runs. He struck four fours and one six in 24 balls.
Apart from Sharvin Muniyandi (20) and Shafiq Sharif (15), other players could not add double figures. Karan KC starred with the ball, returning 3/17 while Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets, Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee, Shahab Alam and Kushal Malla took one wicket each.
#NEPvMal – Karan KC starred with the ball (3/17), two wickets in his third over.
✔️ Anwar Arudin caught 8(4)
✔️ Sharvin Muniandy caught 20(15)
✔️ Syazrul Idrus caugh 8(4)#NepalCricket #KaranKC #TriNationsCup pic.twitter.com/neubONsYwn— cricnepal.com (@cricnepal) April 19, 2021
Nepal will play its third match against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Nepal is currently sitting at the top of the points table with 4 points. The Netherlands are in second place with 2 points and Malaysia losing two matches already is in third place.