The Nepalese A team faced a narrow defeat against Ireland Wolves in the first T20 match on Friday. Chasing a mammoth target of 223 runs, Nepal were restricted to 201 runs, facing a 21-run defeat in a thrilling encounter.
Nepal had a shaky start adding just 43 runs from the powerplay and losing skipper Binod Bhandari for 16. Dev Khanal was swiftly dismissed for a golden duck whilst Arjun Gharti (3) followed him after a couple of overs.
Lokesh Bam and Aarif Sheikh then turned the tides for Nepal. The duo shared 121 runs for the fourth wicket to bring back Nepal in the contest. Lokesh scored a sensational ton from 52 balls. He hammered 106 runs from 56 balls, smacking nine fours and eight sixes. Aarif Sheikh missed out on his half-century as he was dismissed for 49. He hammered five biggies in 26-ball Nepal.
The home side collapsed after Aarif’s dismissal. They needed 29 from 16 balls but the upcoming batters were unable to score even a single boundary. Kiran Thagunna (2), Rashid Khan (0), Basir Ahamad (3) were unable to do any special. Eventually, Nepal A were bowled out for 201 in 19.3 overs.
For Ireland Wolves, Matthew Humphreys and Fionn Hand took three wickets each. Matthew Foster grabbed two whilst Gavin Hoey and Thomas Mayes also picked up one each.
In the first innings, Ireland Wolves posted 222/5 in the allotted 20 overs after being asked to bat first. This is Wolves’ highest T20 score.
Nepal A had a good start as Kamal Singh Airee struck in the second ball of his return to send back Ross Adair. Peter Joseph (PJ) Moor and Cade Carmichael then shared 88 runs for the second wicket before Sagar Dhakal trapped Carmichael in the last ball of the 10th over. He scored 38 runs from 29 balls before being dismissed.
PJ Moor too walked back in the next over, missing out on his half-century by just one run. He hammered four boundaries and three sixes in a 29-ball inning. Stephen Doheny then smacked 16-ball 34 to boost the visitors inning. Skipper Neil Rock also played a decent 38-run knock. Gareth Delany hammered three consecutive sixes to close out the inning. He remained unbeaten for 30 runs from 14 balls. Gavin Hoey also contributed six-ball 18.
Kamal Singh Airee on his return was the pick of a bowler for Nepal A. He picked up three wickets for 39 runs in his four-over quota. Sagar Dhakal and Aarif Sheikh also picked up one wicket each.
