Nepal Men’s cricket team suffered a nine-wicket defeat against the India A side in their second match of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
Chasing a modest 168-run target, India A got off to a flying start. Openers Abhishek Sharma and Sai Sudharsan added 76 runs from the first powerplay. The duo added 139 runs for the first wicket before Abhishek walked back for a cracking 87 runs. He scored 12 fours and two sixes from 69 balls.
India A completed their chase in 22.1 overs, losing just one wicket. Sudharsan managed an unbeaten 58 runs from 52 balls with eight fours and one six. Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel finished things with a six and remained unbeaten on 21 runs from 12 balls.
Rohit Paudel picked up the only wicket for Nepal.
Earlier, Nepal crumbled out for a mere 168 runs after opting to bat first in 39.2 overs.
Nepal once again had a disappointing start as the opener Kushal Bhurtel walked back for a duck in the second ball of the inning. Aasif Sheikh (7), Dev Khanal (15), Bhim Sharki (4) and Kushal Malla (0) were also dismissed swiftly as Nepal were five-wicket down for 37 runs after the end of the first powerplay.
Captain Rohit Paudel and Sompal Kami shared 53 runs for the sixth wicket before Sompal departed for 14 runs. Rohit added another 54 runs with Gulshan Jha for the next wicket and departed for 65 runs from 85 balls. Meanwhile, Jha hammered 30-ball 38 runs with a couple of fours and sixes each.
Nepal could add only five runs for the last two wickets as they were wrapped up for 168.
Nishant Sindhu, the left-arm orthodox, picked up the last four wickets for India A. Earlier, Pacers Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Harsit Rana did a fantastic job and picked up three and two wickets, respectively.
Nepal faced a four-wicket loss against Pakistan A in the previous match.
