Cricket: Nepal narrowly loses to Pakistan Shaheens

KATHMANDU: Nepal lost to Pakistan Shaheens by just one run in today’s match under the ongoing Top End T20 Series in Darwin, Australia.

In the game held at Marara Cricket Ground 2, Pakistan Shaheens won the toss and chose to bat first, setting a target of 145 runs. In reply, Nepal fell just short, scoring 143 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Nepal’s captain Rohit Paudel led the scoring with a half-century—52 runs off 44 balls—hitting six fours and one six. Dipendra Singh Airee added 41 runs, Asif Sheikh made 27, and Lokesh Bam chipped in with 10.

For Pakistan Shaheens, Mohammad Wasim and Faisal Akram took two wickets each, while Mohammad Salman picked up one.

Earlier, Pakistan Shaheens posted 144 runs for nine wickets. Captain Irfan Khan was the top scorer with 42 off 26 balls, including three fours and a six. Abdul Samad contributed 26 runs, Mohammad Wasim added 23, and Yasir Khan made 18.

On the bowling side, Nepal’s Sompal Kami took three wickets, while Nandan Yadav and Dipendra Singh Airee claimed two each. Kushal Bhurtel took one.

Prior to this match, Nepal had won two out of five games in the series—beating Hobart Hurricanes Academy by 66 runs and Melbourne Renegades Academy by 33 runs. However, they suffered losses against Northern Territory Strikers (by 42 runs), Bangladesh ‘A’ (by 32 runs), and Melbourne Stars Academy (by 31 runs).

With this defeat, Nepal finishes the group stage with four points from six matches and is now out of the tournament.