KATHMANDU, MAR 18 – Bangladesh lost a couple of wickets in pursuit of a modest total of 127 runs to win against Nepal in a match being played at the ZAC Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday.
They are however cruising along victory as they have made 79 runs for the loss of two wickets in 10 overs. Nepal i spinner Basanta Regmi took the wicket of Tamim Iqbal who was dismissed for 30 runs in 22 balls.
Anamul Haque was run out for 42 runs.
Nepal i batsmen shined in patches but could not amass a challenging total as they were restricted for 126 runs in the allotted 20 overs against hosts Bangladesh in a crucial match of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign at the ZAC Stadium in Chittagong on Tuesday.
Bangladesh won the toss and invited Nepal to bat first. Nepal i skipper Paras Khadka top scored for Nepal scoring 41 runs while fellow batsman Sharad Vesawkar scored important 40 runs.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh have started their innings and have progressed to 60 runs in seven overs without losing a wicket.
Other Nepal i batsmen could not quite capitalise on the start they got. Nepal i openers had earlier made a sedate start scoring 19 runs before opener Subash Khakurel was dismissed for 8 off 13 balls. Vice captain Gyanendra Malla then joined Sagar Pun in the field.
Opener Sagar Pun was dismissed in the sixth while Vice captain Malla was dismissed for 13 runs (6 balls) in the seventh over.
Nepal i bowlers will have their work cut out as they face the task of restricting Bangladesh within 126 runs. The result of today’s game could later decide the teams fate in the competition.
The winner of today’s game will be confident of making it to the next round, also the main draw of the tournament, when they will play against other Test-playing nations.
Nepal are making their maiden appearance in a cricket World Cup in less than 18 years when they first started representing the Himalayan nation in the international matches.
The two teams have played each other previously but it was before Bangladesh acquired the Test status. They locked horns in 1996 — the year Nepal became the ACC Associate member. In the ACC Trophy held in Kathmandu that year Nepal lost against Bangladesh , also an associate member back then, under parabola method in a rain-affected match.
Only if Nepal had won this match….