T20 Qualifiers: Nepal loses to Papua New Guinea by 35 runs

As stated in Kathmandu Post(March 15), 

Nepal lost to Papua New Guinea by 35 runs in the Group A match of the World Cup T20 Qualifiers at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sarjah of UAE on Thursday.

Nepal had won the toss and elected to field first. The openers of Papua New Guinea fell down cheaply, but the middle order batsmen kept their nerve. Christopher Amini was the highest scorer with 38. Earlier, Geriant Jones played a watchful innings scoring 32 off 35 balls after the openers were out cheaply.

Chandra Sawad got the first breakthrough for Nepal when the took the wicket of Tony Ura. Another opener Asad Vala followed shortly after scoring six runs as he was caught behind by Gyanendra Malla off Paras Khadka.

Shakti Gauchan was the pick of the bowlers taking 2 wickets for 22 runs. Basanta Regmi also took two wickets but went for 34 runs in his 4 overs. Chandra Sawad, Paras Khadka, and Mahboob Alam all registered a wicket in their name.

In reply, Nepal could not stand the disciplined bowling attack of Papua New Guinea. Prithu Baskota, who scored run-a-ball 34, was the only one who looked to provide any hope for the Nepalese team. Pradeep Airee (13) and Sharad Vesawkar (14) got a start but could not build on the momentum as the team could only post 102 runs in their allotted 20 overs.

Nepal defeated Hong Kong and Denmark in the earlier games of the tournament.

Nepal is placed alongside Afghanistan, Canada, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Denmark, Papua New Guinea and Bermuda in Group A.

Likewise, Group B features Namibia, Ireland, Italy, Uganda, Scotland, USA, Oman and Kenya.

The two teams that reach the finale would take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup being held at Sri Lanka in September.

Nepal would square off against Afghanistan tomorrow.