The Nepalese Cricket Team suffered a big defeat against Hong Kong in the Friendship Cup T20I. A big batting collapse saw Nepal face a 73-run defeat, which is their third biggest in T20I (in terms of runs).
Chasing a big target of 213, Nepal were in a comfortable position of 104/2 after ten overs. But Nepal lost eight wickets for just 22 runs and were bowled out for 139 runs in 16.4 overs. Binod Bhandari top scored for Nepal with 22-ball 42 runs which included four boundaries and three sixes. Rohit Paudel and Aarif Sheikh scored 30 and 38 runs respectively. Other batters were unable to cross double-digit scores.
Nepal were 117/2 during the 11th over but after Rohit Paudel’s dismissal, the wickets kept falling in the regular interval. Sundeep Jora (2), Gulshan Jha (8) and Bibek Yadav (1) were unable to do any special.
For Hong Kong, Aizaz Khan was the pick of a bowler grabbing four wickets. Ehsan Khan also grabbed three wickets.
In the first innings, Hong Kong posted 212/6 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Babar Hayat was the standout batter, completing his second T20I ton. He rattled the Nepalese bowling line up smacking 13 sixes and three fours. Hayat scored 110 runs from 49 balls. Anshy Rath and Martin Coetzee scored 39 and 31 runs respectively while Aizaz Khan contributed 11-ball 21.
For Nepal, Debutatnt Aakash Chand was the pick of a bowler. He ended up with a figure of 3-0-27-3. Pratish GC, Aarif Sheikh and Rashid Khan also grabbed one wicket each.
Nepal will play another T20I against Hong Kong on March 10 as part of the Tri-Series.
Nepal’s two biggest losses than this:
- 103 runs vs Netherlands in 2015
- 82 runs vs Singapore in 2019
