KATHMANDU: Nepal A suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Northern Territory Strike in its opening match of the Top End T20 Series in Australia.
Batting first after losing the toss at the Marrara Cricket Ground, Nepal A posted 122 runs. Northern Territory Strike chased down the target in 15 overs, losing just two wickets, after making an aggressive start to the innings.
Douwtjie Hoogenboezem remained unbeaten on 50, while Jordan Silk contributed an unbeaten 42. Captain Darcy Short scored 23 runs for the hosts. Pawan Sarraf was Nepal A’s most successful bowler, taking two wickets for 13 runs.
For Nepal A, the top scorer was 41 runs, including three fours and a six from 49 balls. Lokesh Bam scored 16 off 13 balls, with one four and one six, while Narayan Joshi made 15 off eight balls, hitting one four and one six.
Captain Anil Shah contributed 13 runs off nine balls, including a four and a six, while Trit Raj Das also scored 13 off nine balls with two fours. Rashid Khan made 10 runs and Kushal Malla added nine.
Opener Kushal Bhurtel was dismissed for a duck after facing five balls. Shahab Alam and Rijan Dhakal remained unbeaten without scoring. Hamish Martin was the pick of the Northern Territory Strike bowlers, taking three wickets. Tom Menzies, Sam Barker, Will Blair, and Darcy Short claimed one wicket each. Nepal A will play Bangladesh A in its next match on Saturday.
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