Nepal elected to bat at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur and posted 210/5 in 20 overs -- its biggest ever total in T20 -- as the middle-order batsmen added 133 runs in the last 10 overs. Nepal´s total on Sunday surpassed 183 runs scored against Saudi Arabia in the last edition of the tournament in 2011 in Kathmandu.[break]
In reply, Singapore was all out for 89 runs in 15.1 overs as Nepali spinners dominated the show with 121-run victory. Earlier, Nepal´s biggest victory was the 95-run victory against Saudi Arabia in 2011.
Following the win, Nepal finished the group stage as the runner-up of Group A, where Hong Kong is at the top. Nepal will take on Group B winner, the UAE, in the semifinal on Tuesday while Hong Kong will lock horns with Group B runner-up Afghanistan.
In the match full of records, Nepal made a nervous start as opener Subash Khakurel was caught by Amjad Mahboob off Shoaib Razzak in the first ball of the second over. Khakurel made five runs off three balls.
However, another opener Pradeep Airee and Binod Bhandari, who was promoted in the batting order, put up a 55-run partnership for the second wicket. Airee was caught by Chaminda Kumarage off Irfan Madakia in the fourth ball of the ninth over when he was batting at 30 off 32 balls.
Nepal accelerated the innings after captain Paras Khadka arrived at the crease when the team was progressing at 64/2. Khadka and Bhandari shared a 72-run partnership for the third wicket off 39 balls.
Bhandari scored 54 runs off 34 balls with three fours and four sixes. Bhandari dispatched Singapore bowler Madakia for a four and two consecutive sixes in the first three balls of the 11th over.
It was Bhandari´s maiden T20 half-century and the ninth by a Nepali batsman. Nepali captain Khadka has the most half-centuries in T20 with a tally of four.
Bhandari was caught by Madakia off Amjad Mahboob in the first ball of the 16th over.
Vice-captain Gyanendra Malla joined Khadka at the crease and gave momentum to Nepal´s innings. Malla smashed three sixes and a four in the 17th over bowled by Saad Janjua. Skipper Khadka was caught and bowled by Anish Param in the first ball of the 18th over after making 44 runs off 25 balls with four boundaries and a six.
Khadka and Malla shared a 29-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Malla departed three balls later, immediately after hitting his fourth six in the third ball of the over. Malla scored a quick 30 runs off 11 balls.
Bhandari and Malla became the third and fourth Nepali batsman respectively to hit four or more sixes in a T20 innings. Mehboob Alam had clobbered six sixes against Saudi Arabia in 2011 and Pradeep Airee had smashed four sixes against the Maldives in the opening match of the ongoing tournament.
Prithu Baskota (9 runs off 4 balls) and Sharad Vesawkar put up an unbeaten 38-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Vesawkar clobbered 26 runs off 11 balls with three sixes to guide Nepal to a mammoth total.
The Nepali innings included 12 sixes, the most by Nepali batsmen in an innings so far. Earlier, Nepali batsmen had hit eight sixes against Saudi Arabia in 2011.
"Everyone clicked at the right time, be it Binod Bhandari, Gyanendra Malla or Sharad Vesawkar," said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake. "Everyone batted well and this form could help us more in the upcoming matches," he added.
"Scoring 200-plus was exceptional and more importantly everybody is contributing for the team," said Nepali captain Khadka.
In reply, Singapore batsmen fell victim to poor shot selection and had no answer to Nepal´s spinners. Pacer Chandra Sawad bowled Rezza Gaznavi (one run) in the fourth ball of the first over and skipper Khadka trapped Arjun Mutreja (6 runs) lbw in the next over.
Nepali spinners shared seven wickets among the four of them while skipper Khadka was involved in a brilliant run-out of Amjad Mahboob as Singapore was bundled out for 89 runs.
Basanta Regmi claimed three wickets with a bowling figure of 4-1-17-3. Shakti Gauchan dismissed two Singapore batsmen while Prithu Baskota and debutant Sagar Pun claimed a wicket each.
Pun, the Nepali U-19 star who was a reserve player in the Nepali team, was included in the 14-member team replacing Anil Mandal for the first time on Saturday. The off-spinner won his first cap for the national team as Sanjam Regmi was rested for the match against Singapore.
Singapore captain Saad Janjua was the top scorer with 20 runs off 12 balls while Kshitij Shinde (15 runs), Mahboob (16 runs) and Shoaib Razzak (12 runs) were the other major contributors. The 31-run partnership between Mahboob and Shinde for the seventh wicket was the highest of the Singapore innings.
"I´m happy to qualify for the semifinals but I can be content only after winning the tournament," said Nepali skipper Khadka. "We have no option other than winning the semifinal against the UAE and I hope we can enjoy the support of home crowd in the upcoming matches," he added.
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