Rahul BK and Basanta Regmi held their nerves in the last over as Nepal successfully chased the target of 115 run in 20 overs with the fall of eight wickets. BK scored the wining run for Nepal as the host team required one run from the last ball of the innings to win the match.[break]
After the match, Nepal´s coach Pubudu Dassanayake said that he felt good after winning the thriller. “We were not at our best in today´s match. We were lagging in bowling and batting but the players recovered well in both side.”
Nepal was kept in pressure by the Hong Kong bowlers as they continued to grab the wickets in regular intervals. Nepal lost its opener Subash Khakural (1) and Anil Mandal (1) in the first two overs. Mehaboob Alam also gave away his wickets scoring two runs off nine balls.
Vice captain Gyanendra Malla and captain Paras Khadka gave momentum to the Nepali side with a 43-run partnership for the fourth wicket. A direct hit from Jamie Atkinson sent Malla back to the pavilion after scoring 19 runs off 25 balls that included three boundaries.
Prithu Baskota, who hit the first six of Nepal´s innings, was out scoring 13 runs off 18 balls. Baskota´s six came in the no ball but he could not utilize the following free hit. Baskota was caught in the deep cover by Babar Hayat in attempting for a six. Baskota and Khadka shared 21 runs partnership for the fifth wicket. Binod Bhandari was sent back to the pavilion in the 17th over.
With skipper Khadka still at crease, Nepal´s hope of chasing the target seemed within the reach as he played big shots, including one six, when the host was in need of 26 runs off last two overs.
However, the excitement of the home crowd came to a standstill when Khadka, who scored 44 runs off 46 balls, gave away his wicket while playing the scoop shot in the frist ball of Irfan Ahmed in penultimate over.
Basanta Regmi soon rekindled the hopes of Nepal, scoring a huge six to cheer the rapturous crowd, as the host made 18 runs in the 19th over. Aggressive batsman, Pradeep Airee, hit a boundary in a scoop shot but later was bowled by Ahmed while trying the same shot.
Nepal was in need of eight runs from the last six balls with two wickets in hand. Regmi scored a run in the first ball and received a leg bye in the next ball. He then struck a boundary in the third ball and cut the needed runs to two off three balls.
Regmi took a quick single in the fourth ball that tied the score for Nepal. Rahul BK struck one run in the last ball of the match to seal the victory over Hong Kong. Regmi was not out in 17 runs off nine balls.
Ahmed was the successful bowler for Hong Kong as he grabbed three wickets off four overs conceding 25 runs. Aizaz Khan grabbed two wickets off four overs.
Earlier, Hong Kong won the toss and opted to bat first and scored 114 runs for the fall of nine wickets. Irfan Ahmed and Babar Hayat shared 37-runs partnership in two overs. Ahmed was the first to fall after scoring quick-fire 25 runs off 11 balls with two huge sixes and two boundaries. Jamie Atkinson and Hayat shared 18 runs partnership in four overs that gave the base for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong then continued to lose wickets in regular intervals. Nepali skipper Paras Khadka grabbed two wickets off four overs conceding 26 runs. Basanta Regmi and Mehboob Alam grabbed two wickets each while Amrit Bhattarai and Rahul BK shared a wicket each.
Man-of-the-match awarded skipper Khadka said that Nepali bowlers were not up to the mark in the starting of the innings but later we took the game in our hand. “Our innings did not have momentum as the wickets were falling in regular intervals,” said Khadka, adding, “Despite all this, we won the match and victory is victory. We won´t repeat the mistakes in the upcoming matches.”
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