KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered another close defeat against South Australia (SA) in their second practice T20 match on Thursday, losing by just three runs.
Chasing a target of 161 set by South Australia, Nepal was bowled out for 157 in 20 overs. Rupesh Singh scored a quick 37 off 19 balls, while Lokesh Bam contributed 32 off 26 balls. The duo put together a crucial partnership after Nepal was struggling at 82-6 but fell short of securing a win. Both Rupesh and Lokesh were dismissed in the 19th over.
In the final over, 13 runs were needed, and although Karan KC was on strike, he was caught out. Shahab Alam struck a boundary, leaving 4 runs required off the last ball, but he was bowled, sealing Nepal’s narrow loss.
Earlier, South Australia posted 160 for 8 in their 20 overs. Ryan King top-scored with 39 runs, while Daniel Drew and Harry Manenti added 29 each. For Nepal, Karan KC, Shahab Alam, and Rupesh Singh took 2 wickets each, and Kushal Bhurtel and Karan KC claimed 1 wicket apiece.
Nepal had also lost the first practice game on Thursday morning by three wickets. However, in Tuesday’s practice matches, Nepal had defeated the Australian Capital Territory in both games.
Nepal finished eighth out of 11 teams in the Top End T20 Series. This Australia tour is being closely watched as preparation for Nepal’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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