Nepal suffers 4th defeat in Sri Lanka

KATHMANDU, Aug 11: Nepali national cricket team on Sunday suffered its fourth consecutive defeat against Sri Lanka´s U-23 team. The Nepali team, currently on a 14-day practice tour of Sri Lanka, lost its fourth practice match by seven wickets at the NCC Ground on Sunday. Nepal had lost the first match by seven wickets, second by 133 runs and the third match by three runs against the same opponent.



Nepal elected to bat and put up 166/7 in the 50-over match as some Nepali batsmen tried to build partnerships but failed to accelerate the innings. Sri Lanka U-23 reached the target in 34.4 overs losing only three wickets. Opener Pradeep Airee was out for a duck in the second ball of the innings. [break]



Another opener Anil Mandal and Gyanendra Malla put up a 31-run partnership for the second wicket but Malla departed in the seventh over scoring 18 runs off 22 balls. Skipper Paras Khadka (five runs off 16 balls) and Binod Bhandari (one run off seven balls) returned to the pavilion soon after.



Mandal (27 runs off 55 balls) shared a 23-run partnership with Sharad Vesawkar before Akila Dhananjaya claimed his wicket in the 22nd over. Vesawkar and Sagar Pun then added 32 runs for the sixth wicket as the team reached the 100-run mark. However, Vesawkar was dismissed in the last ball of the 31st over after scoring 29 runs off 40 balls. Pun scored 16 runs off 32 balls and departed when the team´s score was 109.



Tail-enders Basanta Regmi and Shakti Gauchan put up an unbeaten 57-run partnership -- the biggest of the Nepali innings. Regmi scored 30 runs off 55 balls while Gauchan made 31 runs off 46 balls.



Dhananjaya and Lahiru Jayaratna took two wickets each for Sri Lanka U-23 while Amila Aponso, Madhuka Liyanapathi and Kithuruwan Vinthanage claimed a wicket each. In reply, Sri Lanka U-23 reached the small target comfortably as Kushal Mendis scored an unbeaten 56 runs off 70 balls. Vinthanage garnered 48 runs off 55 balls while opener Udara Jayasundara scored 29 runs off 38 balls. Shehan Jayasuriya scored 13 runs and Romesh Buddhika remained unbeaten on 18 runs off 29 balls to seal the victory.



Jitendra Mukhiya, Avinash Karn and Basanta Regmi claimed a wicket each for Nepal. The Nepali team is in Sri Lanka to prepare for the ACC Emerging Teams Cup. The national team is scheduled to fly to Singapore from Sri Lanka to take part in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup scheduled for August 17-25. Nepal has been drawn alongside India, Pakistan and Afghanistan for the tournament. The Asian Test-playing nations will send their U-23 teams for the event.

Related story

Sri Lankan envoy for boosting economic ties with Nepal