Mehboob´s 88, best score by any Nepali in T20 cricket, helped Nepal reach 183 at the loss of 5 wickets at the TU Cricket Ground. Nepal bowled out Saudi Arabia for 88 runs in 19.1 overs.[break]
Alam´s knock was built in 41 balls with five fours and six sixes. His 88 bettered Dipendra Chudhary´s 49, the highest individual score for a Nepali batsman in T20 cricket, which he scored twice, once against Qatar in 2007 and another against Singapore in 2009.
Alam completed his half-century in 20 balls in style. Alam hit a huge six over the midwicket off Faheem Afrad and raised his bat to a roaring 10,000 spectators.
Alam later said that it gave him immense pleasure to perform for the nation. "I stepped on the crease in a positive mindset with plans to score as many runs as I can," said Alam.
He added that he played his natural game and went for scoring runs in every ball. "I don´t regret missing the century," he said.
He walked down the crease for a big shot and was stumped on a wide ball by Khawar Sohail.
Opener Subash Khakurel was out early scoring eight runs off 14 balls. Alam and Anil Mandal shared a 98-run partnership for the second wicket, a record for Nepal and the tournament. Mandal was clearly undone by Asif Meher, who took off the bails at the non-striker end seeing that the batsman had moved out of crease while bowling. Mandal scored 35 runs off 44 balls with five boundaries.
Skipper Paras Khadka scored 19 runs off seven balls with two boundaries and a huge six. Pradeep Airee got off the mark with straight six but could not continue long, departing quickly after scoring 10 off 5 balls. Gyanendra Malla remained unbeaten on 16 runs with two boundaries.
Sohail was the only successful bowler for Saudi Arabia grabbing four wickets conceding 27 runs.
Nepal could have wrapped the Saudi innings for a lower total if there hadn´t been a few fielding lapses. Pradeep Airee and Subash Khakurel dropped catches of Hammad Saeed in the first over bowled by Binod Das, who returned after being rested for earlier matches. Das dropped a catch of Hameed in Alam´s over. Alam, however, got rid of Hameed later when he drove straight to the mid-off fielder Airee.
After that Nepal took wickets at regular intervals. Mohammad Naseem was the highest scorer with 21 runs off 20 balls. Khadka grabbed three wickets in 2.1 overs conceding just five runs. Off-spinner Sanjam Regmi claimed three wickets conceding 10 runs and bowled a maiden over. Mehboob Alam, Basanta Regmi and Rahul BK each took a wicket.
After the win, skipper Khadka said that the team was determined to win the match with a big margin. "We gave our best to improve our net run rate to qualify for the next round," he said.
Alam´s record galore
- Mehboob Alam´s 88 against Saudi Arabia is the first half-century scored by a Nepali player in international Twenty20 cricket. Earlier, Dipendra Chaudhary had scored 49 against Qatar in 2007 and against Singapore in 2009.
- Alam´s innings included six sixes, the highest by a Nepali players in an innings. Earlier best was two sixes in an innings. Three Nepali players, Gyanendra Malla (against Afghanistan in 2007), Alam (Against Oman in 2007) and Binod Das (against Oman in 2009) had that record.
- Alam partnered Anil Mandal for 98 runs which is the highest partnership in Twenty20 for any team, and also the best second wicket partnership in the tournament. Earlier, Paras Khadka and Malla had shared 94 runs for the fourth wicket against Bahrain in 2009.
- Nepal´s 183 for 5 is the highest score for the country in T20. Nepal´s best total was 159, scored while chasing Bahrain´s total in 2009.
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