In the 20-over match played at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Nepal faced a 37-run defeat at the hands of World XI.
Chasing 136 runs for victory, Paras Khadka-led Nepal was bundled out for 98 runs in 19.2 overs as the visiting batsmen struggled to bat freely against the World XI team captained by Sri Lankan legendary cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, although Nepal started its run chase comfortably and added 25 runs with the loss of just one wicket till the fifth over.
Suresh Navaratnam drew the first blood as he sent Anil Mandal (17) to pavilion in the fifth over. However Nepal's batting began to collapse soon after Naresh Budayair (13) was caught by Abdur Razzak off Sohag Gazi in the eighth over. Anil hit two fours and Naresh smashed a six and a four.
Nepal, which was on 41/2 in 7.4 overs, lost three crucial wickets of Sharad Vesawkar (11), Rajesh Pulami (0) and Mehboob Alam (11) within 13.2 overs.
Later on, Nepal's U-19 team skipper Raju Rijal (17) and Siddhant Lohani (13) scored in double digits after majority of batsmen failed to establish a good partnership against one of the experienced sides.
Suresh bagged the highest three wickets for World XI, while Abdur and Sanath claimed two wickets each to restrict Nepal to under 100 runs. Steve O'Keefe, Sohag and Marcus Stoinis took one wicket each.
Earlier, winning the toss and opting to bat first, World XI put up 135 runs losing all wickets with two ball remaining in the allotted 20 overs. Marcus scored 48 runs off 29 balls that included a six and eight boundaries.
Venugopal Rao (23 off 14) and Ahmad Faiz (18) were other batsmen to score crucial runs to help World XI to put up a fighting total against Nepal that recently toured Europe, where it lost four-match T20I series against the Netherlands 3-1. Nepal's Europe trip was a forgettable episode as it failed to qualify for next year's T20 World Cup after finishing bottom in the group stage of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Ireland and Scotland and also lost two List A matches of the ICC World Cricket League Championship against Scotland.
Marcus shared 30 runs for the first wicket with skipper Sanath (6) and added 39 runs with Venugopal for the second wicket.
Although, World XI middle order batsmen struggled against Nepali bowlers, Abdur, who remained not out on 16 runs, faced only seven balls and smashed two sixes to add the important runs.
Avinash Karna, Siddhant, Rajesh Pulami and Sharad bagged two wickets to bowl World XI out in 19.4 overs. Mahboob and Shakti Gauchan took one wicket each for Nepal.
PHOTOS: CRICKETINGNEPAL.COM
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